04-09-18 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING April 9, 2018 for two (2)weeks might help people make up their mind and maybe there is some common ground that can be found and I would be more than willing to make that motion if need be. Councilmember Dr. David Varner stated, I appreciate all the time you folks have put into this. I also visited the Center at the request of the Director. I'm prepared to make a decision tonight. I'll follow Councilmember John Voorde's line, if we are looking strictly at zoning, a buffer is supposed to do exactly that. It is supposed to create something different between a hard retail or commercial and a hard residential. Office use of any sort, whether it is a professional office or insurance agency or something like that,provides that kind of buffer. I agree with Councilmember Voorde again that there is not likely anyone else to come in and use this house for other than a house. The next opportunity would be a restaurant which is still an option. That is one (1) of the things to be considered in this. I think this is doing what is asked and intended. I think it is almost a little ironic that if this clinic doesn't get this license, this whole thing becomes rather moot. I'm prepared to act in favor tonight. Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, It was my understanding that even if the clinic doesn't get their license that they will still be there. That is what I'm hearing from you all especially when you said you will keep both locations open. That helps this whole thing come together a lot better in my mind. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, I've written a lot of notes and would like to make my comments known,this being a part of the 1St Councilmanic District. I look at this,and I was part of the Lincoln Way/Western Avenue Corridor Planning Committee, and there are so many things here. I appreciate all the work the Women's Care Center does,but it isn't about the work. I have said that from the beginning. It is about the location. What is along Lincoln Way and, as part of my district, we want more for Lincoln Way than what we have and what we are getting. Dr. James Mueller knows this as well as anybody that what we are doing here is completely reactionary. I'm going to be hard on DCI and they know it but I hope it pushes us in the right direction. The Western Avenue Corridor Plan is just amazing. If you look at that, it is amazing what that can be. What it will take is investment in time and resources just like we put into down town. We did this three (3) years ago and we did phase one(1)which included restriping Lincoln Way and Western Avenue. We've worked a lot on Western Avenue on facades and the Commercial Node within it but we haven't done a darn thing on Lincoln Way. To me, the businesses that have moved along there are reactionary. No disrespect but to me, it is taking a square peg and trying to put it in a round hole. Whatever the reason is for buying the property, there are things that are out of your control. There are no sidewalks and there is no way to get to it. You can tell people all you want to get off of the bus at Illinois and walk down Elwood but people are going to walk down Lincoln Way. It is part of a TIF District. What I would have loved to see is one (1) of these Nodes where there is higher density with places like Olive or Blaine that needs a lot of potential and have this investment there. To me, this would be a great anchor within one (1) of those other Nodes. Mr. Nussbaum, I know this is part of the Bendix Node but there was no written legal plot of what that Node was. You look at some and it may include that property, it may not. The buffer is literally the office space right next door to the East. Right now, it is a good transition from the gas station to residential. What we are missing from this, and this is what I see as an erosion, is the residential node. That is a big thing that is missing along Lincoln Way is redevelopment in that Residential Node. With that, my decision has nothing to do with the business and service you provide. I was completely against the Dollar General across the street because it didn't fit the plan either. They made exceptions. Dr. Mueller is the third Director of Community Investment since we did this Plan. I already reached out to him and I want the Western Corridor Committee to meet with the new members on Council and anybody else to discuss the plan. Why are we doing these plans if they aren't actually going to work? I don't care who you are, you cannot control who is going to be exercising their lst Amendment right on the sidewalk. Whether it is your business or the competition. The other business didn't have to come before us because it was already zoned. But,to date, I have received over 3,000 emails from California to Florida,Maine and back to not allow an abortion clinic in my District. I get it. I'm glad you are respectful and you have a good policy on protests but you can't control that. I will not be supportive of this. Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, A lot of the comments of my peers on the Council have started with the word `if.' If, if, if. It is not if we are to look at this as a strict zoning plan, we are 22