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REGULAR MEETING
<br />NOVEMBER 14, 2016
<br />do it the right way. She stated that she is very sympathetic to Mr. Mathew's and the amount of
<br />time he and his staff have dedicated to this endeavor. She thanked him for bringing it forward for
<br />the benefit of both the 4th District and the City. It is an amazing plan. There were, though, plenty
<br />of opportunities to go bigger and better with this in a way that brings along the entire
<br />neighborhood and is done without ambiguity. Clean, clear; done without contention and in a
<br />business -like fashion. These are some of the marks that we need to hit. You need to hit —for the
<br />grant— housing, a full - service market, and the pharmacy. There are a lot of x- factors there for
<br />me, in terms of figuring out what components are really driving hype, here. I would like to work
<br />with you, and I would like to invite you to work with people. Again, this isn't the first time that I
<br />have made this request, because there are neighbors who are obviously affected. There are
<br />people who have standing in this. It is not just the neighbors. It will impact a lot of folks. We are
<br />going to be asked to look at making room for parking.
<br />As a Council, I want to make sure we are adding up all the numbers and all the asks on this. Yes,
<br />indeed — incredible risk for you and Mr. Bartels. This is a $14,000,000 question, and it's also a
<br />game - changing question because of the tool that you have elected to jive this through. I
<br />appreciate, again, your willingness to put this before us to make us think big as a city —and I
<br />want this to happen, but I want it to be something that fosters future growth; that people know
<br />the way to get things done. My biggest, biggest concern on this is that there is a different way to
<br />do this and to do it right, with regards to the request for the rezoning. This is a variance on
<br />height. It belongs in the domain, in my opinion —and should have been in the domain of —the
<br />Central Business District. You are asking us to disregard planning on any given parcel in the
<br />City of South Bend, and I guess I would like to ask my fellow Councilmembers to consider
<br />where this leaves planning. Where does this leave planning for any of us? Where do we go from
<br />there? In 2014, with your question at the River Race Flats, at Niles and Jefferson... it's been over
<br />two years that we've asked ourselves, back -to -back years -2013 to 2014— should this
<br />neighborhood be higher? But yet here we are, being asked to do something that is going to
<br />change our ability to have ground rules in place that dictate the height on any given piece of
<br />vacant or soon -to -be vacant piece of property in the City of South Bend. I know others are
<br />watching. I have spoken with at least five (5) or six (6) developers. I have spoken tirelessly for
<br />just about as long as you and I first met four (4) months ago on this, to figure out where people
<br />are at. There is definitely development fatigue in that neighborhood, because these questions
<br />keep coming up and up again. We need to take that seriously. We need to be responsive to every
<br />single neighbor for every single neighborhood plan that is in place.
<br />This is a game - changer. I really do thank the amount of work that this Council has brought to
<br />this consideration tonight, but I'll have to say that it's been a little dribble throughout this whole
<br />process. The full facts were never really at the table. So, I would appreciate and welcome the full
<br />length, the full time clock on this, to make a wise and informed decision that really has us
<br />looking at the four criteria, with regard to planning. I want this to happen. South Bend wants this
<br />to happen. We need it to happen. But, we need it in a way that is fair, that is business -like, that is
<br />timely, because others are also looking and people count on predictability when you're looking
<br />to build, when you're looking to purchase a house, when you're looking to establish a home
<br />whether it's in a five (5) story building, a two (2) story building, or maybe a twelve (12) story
<br />building. Planning works, too. Being in the Fourth (4th) District, I can speak to that, with the
<br />dollars that are being brought forward in development just south of Notre Dame. There have
<br />been a lot of successful development projects. We know the intended number is going to be
<br />seven - hundred and fifty (750)— really quickly, really soon —based on all the projects that are
<br />online. I think that this can be done in a smarter, more collaborative way. Maybe the outcome
<br />will be the same, but I would like to just challenge our Administration, our planners. If we are
<br />going to be putting these type of dollars— whether tax dollars that are coming from the State of
<br />Indiana, or tax abatements that are capturing dollars when this thing or other projects are done
<br />there —I just want to make sure that we are spending those tax dollars in the most effective way
<br />to get the most bang for the buck. I think we can get something that works for the residents, that
<br />works for the developers, that works for future developers, that works for the person looking to
<br />reside in the East Bank, but I'm not ready to throw planning out the window. This what this is
<br />asking us to do. About a month ago, I went to a funeral of a man named Les Fox, and some of
<br />the advice that was given at that funeral eulogy was to hit it in the middle of the road. I don't see
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