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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
<br /> Mr. Divita stated, So, I think there are certain ecological as well as health and safety benefits to
<br /> that kind of setback. I think there is also more important value in the activation of the riverfront
<br /> and the kind of environment it provides.
<br /> Mr. Corcoran stated, Back in 2016 with Venues, Parks & Arts, there was the Riverfront Parks &
<br /> Trails conceptual framework that was developed where we had met in multiple public meetings to
<br /> speak to the future of what our riverfront parks and trails might be. As you can see, in places like
<br /> Howard Park, right now we are in the process of implementing that. The connective pieces to this
<br /> plan are the trails that connect these things. I think that started to lay the framework to why we
<br /> would want to see this from an activation point of view.
<br /> Committeemember Shein left the meeting at 5:24 p.m.
<br /> Mr. Corcoran continued,This(referencing a slide in the presentation)is a recent study done by the
<br /> same company that did our value model for downtown. This is what they call lake effect value
<br /> capture. The point of this is that as the asset in your community is more accessible to the
<br /> community, the value of that asset trickles back into parcels that are not just along the river. So,
<br /> you help by providing access and this particular setback is not about access, but it is about people
<br /> being able to access the river through the private development. It would help facilitate the idea of
<br /> pulling some of that value of the river, or the East Race, back into the rest of the neighborhood.
<br /> Mr.Divita stated,Within that fifteen(15)foot setback,that doesn't mean you couldn't do anything.
<br /> So, these are the kinds of things (referencing a slide in the presentation) that would be allowed in
<br /> that space. Again, we are looking for riverfront activation. So, walkways, plazas, outdoor seating
<br /> areas, porches, fences, and retaining walls would all be permitted within that setback within the
<br /> ordinance. So, to give you a sense of the scale and what this fifteen(15) feet look like, a non-river
<br /> environment, looking here on Main Street, the sidewalk is twelve (12) feet wide to the protected
<br /> bike lane on Main Street. That gets you to about the fifteen(15) feet. If you are talking just to the
<br /> curb face,it would be twenty-four(24) feet. So,not even the distance to the curb you see on Main
<br /> Street to the building front. In more of a riverfront context, the outdoor seating area you see at the
<br /> • Emporium is the kind of environment we are hoping to create here. Generally, that seating area is
<br /> about fifteen(15)to twenty(20)feet. The area itself,if you include the trail portion,is about thirty
<br /> (30) feet back. These sort of overlays or over zones, or setbacks, it is not uncommon seeing these
<br /> in different places in Indiana. A few are highlighted here (referencing a slide in the presentation).
<br /> La Porte,for instance,goes seventy-five(75)feet back from the ordinary high-water mark.Howard
<br /> County is one hundred(100)feet back from a one hundred(100)year flood plain.We realize those
<br /> aren't as intensely used in an urban perspective as something in downtown South Bend.With that,
<br /> Buffalo,New York has a recent ordinance and they have a one hundred(100) foot setback in their
<br /> waterfront zone, along lake Eerie. They limited it to twenty-five (25) feet in their intensely
<br /> urbanized areas.
<br /> He continued, So, this would be a setback from the property line, and we would measure it just as
<br /> we do as a setback you might have on your Single-Family home. It only applies to properties that
<br /> have direct riverfront or East Race frontage. There are a couple examples here (referencing the
<br /> presentation). In Type One (1), the property line runs along the river and it is a setback of fifteen
<br /> (15) feet back off of that. If there is an easement running through it,we do have some places in the
<br /> downtown area where there might be a City trail or perhaps a utility, the easement doesn't really
<br /> matter and it's still fifteen (15) feet from that property line. The third (3rd) type, we'll see
<br /> EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT
<br /> 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601,p 574.235.9221;f 574.235.9173 TTD 574 235 5567 vwrw.southbendin.gov
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