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REGULAR MEETING December 12, 2016
<br />He stated that the proposed garage was sized for the daily traffic needed for the grocery store,
<br />pharmacy, office workers, and a small amount for daytime apartment parkers. At night, though,
<br />he stated that the garage was probably going to be half -empty because the grocery store,
<br />pharmacy, and office would be closed. This abundance of volume could accommodate increased
<br />density in the area, such as if the Pointe wanted to expand.
<br />Councilmember Voorde asked, If Fire Arts became available—
<br />Mr. Matthews interjected, I'm on the board, I talk to them.
<br />Councilmember Voorde continued, asking if that development became available if they would be
<br />strictly apartment units, like what is to be built on Sycamore, or if they would be a commercial -
<br />residential mix.
<br />Mr. Matthews responded, The ground floor, if they go commercial, they are going to put a
<br />demand on the parking of the grocery store and on the streets. If it's low- impact commercial
<br />during the day, then we can have commercial on the ground floor. There is not going to be
<br />enough capacity in that garage, though, to do an office building or commercial uses on multiple
<br />floors. It's going to have to be residential — unless we build another garage, but I don't think it's
<br />necessary.
<br />Councilmember Voorde asked if the garage, in all the alternative configurations of the project,
<br />would be sized to accommodate more than a downsized building, to which Mr. Matthews
<br />responded that as long as the building is mostly residential, the garage would be accommodating.
<br />Councilmember Scott, addressing Community Investment, stated that in 2008 there was an
<br />expected real estate tax increase of $2,700,000. He asked how much of this plan has been
<br />realized, in terms of tax generation.
<br />Brian Pawlowski, Interim Executive Director, Community Investment, with offices on the 14'
<br />Floor of the County -City Building, stated that the short version of the answer was that the City
<br />was not there yet.
<br />Councilmember Broden, addressing Mr. Pawlowski and Mr. Mueller, asked why, after a four (4)
<br />month -long process, Council received four (4) additional project options —as well as the
<br />Mayor's letter listing his preferred compromise —only in the last twenty -four (24) hours.
<br />Mr. Mueller responded that negotiations had been going on for several months, and that the
<br />issues presented that night were not altogether new. He stated, I credit a lot of the
<br />Councilmembers for their efforts to get these kinds of options there. We've been trying to push
<br />some sort of compromise for many weeks. Quite frankly, I think there was a perception that you
<br />could peel off a fifth vote and not necessarily follow what the Administration was negotiating. I
<br />think when there became a clear message from the Council that you wanted to see a compromise
<br />and we were trying to negotiate that compromise, this is when you saw a movement of-
<br />Councilmember Broden interjected, stating, So really, your focus started two (2) weeks ago
<br />when we got that pressure. She pointed out that none of the options conform to the East Bank
<br />Plan. She asked, as a result, where the compromise was.
<br />Mr. Mueller responded that he felt that it was a compromise between business development and
<br />planning. He stated that, regarding Councilmember Scott's question about the amount of
<br />development seen since the 2008 plan, there had not been as much development as projected at
<br />all. He stated that developers present would probably agree with the notion that height makes
<br />these sorts of projects viable. He stated, So, we have to develop what's possible with what we
<br />would like to see.
<br />Mr. Pawlowski added that the exercise with the consultant was productive. He further stated that
<br />Community Investment started to consider different options for the project after the Area Plan
<br />Commission, when issues started to come in to the Council, the Mayor's office, and Community
<br />Investment's office —which occurred more than two (2) weeks prior to this meeting. He
<br />explained that TIF resources are finite. He stated, When we're looking at what we're able to get
<br />out the door toward projects —be it in the East Bank or different portions of the City —we do
<br />have competing needs for those things. So, to the extent that the East Bank is alive and vibrant,
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