07/09/07 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING JULY 9, 2007 member of the NENC, she used to watch her parents composing minutes and writing articles, helping out at the food pantry, attending meetings and talking to the press, following through with their commitment to the neighborhood by committing to the Council, they have been excellent role models for her as she has come to her own understanding of what it means to strive for the betterment of all the people within a large neighborhood. It means addressing the needs of a diverse population. Old and young, black and white, educated and uneducated, religious and secular, public and private we chose to live in this urban area with all of its problems and all of its potential, the best work we do is in trying to mesh together substantial solutions and projects that serve the neighborhood well, the Eddy Street Commons is such a project. Mr. Russell Faegus, 1101 N. St. Joseph, South Bend, Indiana, advised that there are obviously many wonderful features about the development. He doesn't know whether he is here to speak for or against. South Bend has as its model; it is a 21st Century City. 21st Century development does need to be green development. He thinks that in the last couple of years we have all become very much aware of the threat to our planet from uncontrolled development. He is certainly not here to speak against the development, what has been said in terms of green development aspects of the program has been very vague. He would urge the Council to consider more green development. Mr. James Harris, 1125 South Bend Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, stated that he owns and operates Harris Liquor Store and has lived in the triangle for over fifty years. Mr. Harris stated that there are few people in the audience tonight that have lived their before him and are still living in the triangle today. He stated that he is in favor of this project. Mr. Harris advised that it is time for a change. Something needs to be developed and now is that time. He indicated that there are concerns for the neighbors and in the neighborhood, but he believes that the Council will ask the right questions and make sure that the commitments from the developer are followed through. He urged their favorable consideration. Mr. Greg Hakanen, Director of Asset Management and Real Estate Development, University of Notre Dame, 910 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, Indiana, stated that he is speaking on behalf of Mr. James J. Lyphout, Vice President for Business Operations. Mr. Lyphout sent a letter to the Council dated July 6, 2007 and is on file in the Office of the City Clerk. He stated that Mr. Lyphout is on a retreat and is speaking on his behalf. It is important to refocus on the idea there have been and there will be people that will talk about preserving the woods, just as a reminder this land on the southeast corner of Edison and Eddy is absolutely essential to the viability and success of this project. It is where the roads and the campus and the community come together. The development can't go forward with out the use of this land. It isn't that high quality of woods for reasons that he has mentioned before. Just to remind the Council that the University is dedicating twelve acres at the northwest corner of Edison and Eddy for a Town Common which constructions begins on this summer, 2.5 million dollars open to the public and should be completed by the summer of 2008. In his mind, if you talk about the Manhattan Model certainly this is closer than if you lived on the streets of Manhattan and have to walk over to Central Park. He believes that meets the public space test. There are other who have spoken before him on the public participation in this process, he can't say at a personal level that he is thrilled to come in midstream into a process that was as collaborative and open as this one has been. He is thrilled that the University has worked through NNRO, NENC, and invited the participation of residents that's real and you have heard about this from other people speaking tonight, and this is an important part of the process. A couple of items to focus on, it was eluded to before that Notre Dame will continue to have a long term vested interest in this property. They are selling some of the land, and leasing the land along Eddy and Edison, it's the land closest and most influential to the campus, so the University is leasing that land to Kite on a long-term basis. This may give some people comfort to know that Notre Dame will stay involved over the long-term meaning hundreds of years. This is an incredibly important project for the City of South Bend, the Northeast Neighborhood and certainly for Notre Dame. It strikes him as a win, win, win situation, certainly Notre Dame benefits from the redevelopment of this neighborhood. He hopes that it is clear that the neighborhood, the 26