01-14-19 Zoning and Annexation - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OFSOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committee Chair Davis then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. Tim Corcoran, Director of Planning for the City of South Bend with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, stated, I would like to speak in favor of this project. I think this is a great site in the City. There are very few parcels like this left where it is in a great location and it is large enough to support a variety of housing.One(1)of the things we need is housing diversity in the City and this is a project that offers a type of housing we don't have a lot of Also, it's nice and is addressing the different urban design conditions. Parking, I think they provided almost four (4)times the amount required by the zoning ordinance, so it is not really much of an issue. Traffic is always a concern, but residential development is probably the lowest traffic generator in terms of uses. So, a grocery store or something like that, that generates a lot of traffic. A typical house or townhome, there are only two (2) or three (3) trips a day or something like that. It adds up to second overall from a delay point of view. Again, we like the way they are starting to interface with the park and as Councilmember Broden mentioned, it is opening up to the park and gives the park more of a presence. We hope through Venues, Parks & Arts there will be more interest in Frederickson Park. I do hope we can do some things to make the park a nicer place for people to use and I look forward to continuing working on this project with the developer and others to make great in-fill projects. This is exactly the type of project that the City needs. Thank you. Committee Chair Davis turned the floor back to the Committee for further comment or main motion. Committeemember Broden stated, There is going to be a considerable amount of tree removal. Consistent with other expansive projects where wooded areas have been removed, thinking about the Kite Reality group on Eddy Street specifically,there were a lot of problems with vermin.When you remove all this stuff, there were a lot of complaints about skunks, opossums and raccoons. One (1) of the actual commitments, and I'm just going to suggest this, but written into that development was that the animals living in the woods would be trapped and relocated for two (2) weeks prior to the removal of any trees. If animals are relocated from the woods, into the neighborhood during or after tree removal, neighbors will be provided with a contact that will come to their property, humanely trap the animal and release them in a safe location. And this commitment says during sixty(60)days following the removal of the trees,the cost will be covered by Kite Reality. I'm going to set that out there. That is good practice and I know that Kite Reality didn't have to engage in much of these services,but it was something that,prior to knocking down all these trees, I think we can reasonably assume there is a good amount of wildlife in that area. I would also like to say that your commitment to perimeter landscape along the property, those are things thatgo a longwayin terms of beautification but all the environmental benefits of reinstalling some greenery there will be great. I will say there has been a real problem in the past. I would like them to consider that a commitment. I thought it was brought to your attention and I don't know if you had heard it before or not. Committeemember Gavin Ferlic encouraged Committeemember Broden to meet with the developers between this meeting and the full Council meeting to figure out proper language for that commitment. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION I INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.go. 5