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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-08-19 Zoning and Annexation 6'`$ouTH:Bi,'-- cr s'p'a `F �d1 a 1865 OFFICE OF THE JCITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK ZONING &ANNEXATION JULY 8, 2019 4:30 P.M. Committee Members Present: John Voorde, Gavin Ferlic, Jo M. Broden, David Matthews (citizen member), Cari Shein (citizen member) Committee Members Absent: Dr. Oliver Davis Other Council Present: Karen White, Jake Teshka, Tim Scott Other Council Absent: Regina Williams-Preston, Sharon L. McBride Others Present: Bianca Tirado, Graham Sparks, Bob Palmer, Morgan Gonsoski, Ryan Wroblewski Presenters: Jordan Wyatt, Michael Divita, Tim Corcoran,Angela Smith Agenda: Substitute Bill No. 14-19- SF3 Zoning Ordinance Amendment Substitute Bill No. 15-19- CBD Zoning Ordinance Amendment Bill No. 19-45- Special Exception: 407, 411, 419,423, and 427 South Frances Street Vice Committee Chair John Voorde called to order the Zoning and Annexation Committee meeting at 4:30 p.m. He introduced members of the Committee and proceeded to open the floor to the Committee for main motions. Committeemember Gavin Ferlic made motion to recess and reconvene in the full Council Chambers. Committeemember Jo M. Broden seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of five (5) ayes. The Zoning and Annexation Committee reconvened at 4:36 p.m. Vice Committee Chair Voorde then gave the floor to the presenters. Committeemember Ferlic made a motion to hear Bill No. 19-45 before Bill Nos. 14-19 and 15-19. Committeemember Broden seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of five(5) ayes. Bill No. 19-45- Special Exception: 407,411,419,423, and 427 South Frances Street INTEGRITY' SERVICE'ACCESSIBILITY JENNIFER M.COFFMAN BLANCA L.TIRADO JOSEPH R.MOLNAR CIIIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Blvd.I South Bend,Indiana 46601 I p 574.235.9221 I f 574.235.9173 I www.southbendin.gov n,CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Jordan Wyatt, Planner with the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Growth with offices located on the 11th floor of the County-City Building, stated,The petitioner is requesting a special exception use at the addresses listed for Two (2)-Family Dwellings. These will be separate ownership, so the property line will go through the center of the unit,but they have to get a special exception use for a Two(2)-Family Dwelling because by definition,they share a wall.This is part of the River Walk Development. This comes to you with a favorable recommendation from the Area Board of Zoning Appeals.The petitioner isn't here. I suggested he hold off until I figured out everything that was going on with the Zoning and Annexation Committee, but he will be here for the evening meeting tonight. I would be happy to answer any questions. Vice Committee Chair Voorde opened the floor to questions from Committee and Council Members. Committeemember Broden asked,Was there anything at the Area Plan Commission regarding this petition? Any issues raised? Mr. Wyatt replied,No, there was nobody there to speak in favor of or against this petition. Committeemember Broden followed up, And the final vote? Mr. Wyatt replied, It was unanimous. Vice Committee Chair Voorde then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to this legislation. There were none. Committeemember Ferlic stated, I'm certainly in favor of this, but past practice has been if the petitioner has not been able to present at the Committee level, we send it forward with no recommendation. Committeemember Ferlic made a motion to send Bill No. 19-45 to the full Council with no recommendation. Committeemember Broden seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of five(5) ayes. Councilmember Karen White asked, Vice Chair Voorde, could you maybe explain the role of the Committee? I know this may be the first (1St) time for some of the individuals attending our meeting. You may see that certain Council Members are not voting or making recommendations, so if you could clarify that, I think that would be very helpful. Vice Committee Chair Voorde stated, Ok, so we are meeting as a Zoning and Annexation Committee. We consider items germane to that, Zoning and Annexation. We review, hear testimony, hear reports from Area Plan and City Offices, listen to a presentation from the petitioner, and we make a recommendation, usually either favorable, unfavorable or give no recommendation to full Council. Then that item is taken up with the full Council with that recommendation at the time of the public hearing, which is generally the same evening as the 7:00 p.m. meeting. Citizen members of the Committee, now of which I am happy to say we have two (2), get to vote at the Committee level, and they do not vote at the public hearing at the 7:00 p.m. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 I I D574.235.5567 .wasouthbendin.gov 2 C),CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK meeting. They get full voice here and are able to register a vote at Committee for that recommending vote. Substitute Bill No. 14-19- SF3 Zoning Ordinance Amendment Committeemember Ferlic made a motion to hear the Substitute version of Bill No. 14-19. Committeemember Broden seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of five(5) ayes. Mr. Wyatt stated, The petitioner is requesting to add a new district to the City of South Bend Zoning Ordinance, the SF-Three (3), Residential Flex District. This ordinance was drafted to establish a District that will allow for a mix of housing types, as well as accessory dwelling units. This ordinance doesn't specifically rezone any property but will facilitate the option to address these housing needs in South Bend. This comes to you with a favorable recommendation from the Area Plan Commission. I will let DCI explain those changes in more detail. Thank you. Michael Divita, Principle Planner for the Department of Community Investment with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, stated, What the SF-Three (3) is looking to do is address the missing middle housing. These are house-scale buildings with multiple units in walkable neighborhoods. There is a spectrum of housing types that you might see in a City. Our SF-One(1) and SF-Two (2)zones address the left end(referencing a slide in a presentation which is available in the City Clerk's Office) of that spectrum. So, Single-Family homes are permitted by right as well as duplexes by special exception. Almost fifty percent (50%) of the zoned land in the City is zoned either SF-One(1) or SF-Two (2), those Single-Family zones. More than eighty- three percent(83%)of the land where a residential use is permitted,it is restricted to Single-Family homes by right. Then our existing MF-One(1), MU, and CBD zones cover more toward the right end of that spectrum (referencing a slide in the presentation). Those are the larger apartment building and townhome uses. What our current Zoning Ordinance doesn't address well is the area in between those two (2) ends. That is what the SF-Three(3)here proposed to tackle. He continued, So, what kinds of housing are we talking about? It could be duplexes side-by-side or stacked. It could be three(3)-unit buildings. Again, side-by-side-by-side or stacked. It could be other types of dwelling units like an accessory dwelling unit, sometimes known as a granny-flat, a mother-in-law suite,or carriage house. Or,a cottage court which is generally a grouping of Single- Family or Duplex homes around a small green. So, why are these building types important? One (1),obviously it provides housing choice that reacts to a differing market as we've seen with some of our local housing studies. As well, anecdotally from talking to builders and developers here, as well as residents, there is a demand for these kinds of housing types that the ordinance currently doesn't speak to very well. It allows for aging in place or multi-generational living. You might have a resident who is elderly, disabled or has other special needs, and they could live semi- independently but still be on site with a primary homeowner. This could also be for people who recently graduated college and entered the workforce. They could live on the premise but in their own unit. Certainly, a big issue right now is affordability and these housing units tend to be a little bit smaller, they share land, walls and building costs as they are built. So, this provides more affordable housing options as well. This is also an opportunity for wealth creation. Someone may have a Single-Family home but wishes to allow or to add one(1)of those accessory dwelling units to their property. Or,they may want to build a duplex where they can live in half of it and rent out the other part to help them pay for their mortgage. It also allows neighborhoods to slowly evolve. These are very small-scale multi-family type units. It is a method where population and housing EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p574.235.9221'f574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 e wesouthbendin.gov 3 C")CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK units can be added into a neighborhood in a sensitive way to the existing character of those neighborhoods. With that additional population, it would support neighborhood-level commercial services better. Transit, as well. Finally, it would implement goals of neighborhood plans. He went on, Before I take any questions, I wanted to distribute some letters of support from Mike Keen who is working on doing some of this style of housing within the Near Northwest.And,from Karl King, as well (which are available in the City Clerk's Office). Just on the technical side here, the new zone, specifically, will allow one (1) to four (4) housing units plus accessory dwelling units, by right. The aim here is really more on the new construction side rather than trying to convert existing Single-Family homes. A conversion will stay the same now, requiring a special exception to add more units into that structure.It adopts the uses you see in the SF-Two(2)District. From a development standards perspective, the standards are kind of a blend of the SF-Two (2) and the MF-One(1)districts.As Jordan mentioned,this does not zone any land,but it does provide the option to the developer to pursue this. Vice Committee Chair Voorde opened the floor to questions from Committee and Council Members. Committeemember Broden asked, Historically, per your slides that depicted these options, why did the missing middle occur, in terms of our existing ordinance? Do you get what I'm saying? Why is it missing? Obviously, historically, we had those opportunities. Mr. Divita replied, Historically, we had all of those options, but we tend to see it in the neighborhoods adjacent to the downtown. I think with the push towards more exclusive Single- Family neighborhoods, not only here but across the country, cities deviated away from that. Committeemember Cari Shein stated, I think this is brilliant. I think there is a huge hole in housing in our area. I have a question though, and it might already be answered in here, but how is an accessory unit defined? I think the square footage and the restriction,I think you want to have very nice units built but also want them to solve the affordability problem. So, I think the details of those requirements are going to be really important in terms of how much this new designation can actually be used. So, I'm curious to know what you are thinking about the specifics of an accessory unit. Mr. Divita replied, There are specific standards detailed in the ordinance for them that are based off national best practices and are calibrated to our local market here. The idea is for some meaningful living space but still small enough to meet that definition of accessory. An accessory dwelling unit can't be more than seventy-five percent (75%) of the living area of the primary dwelling unit on the property, or, eight hundred(800) square feet. Whichever is less. Committeemember Shein followed up, Is there a minimum square footage? Mr. Divita replied, No minimum is defined. Committeemember Shein stated,I'm curious about a lot of things and I'll have to read the material. But, thank you very much. EXCELLENCE ; ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W Jefferson BvldSouth Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 ee.wi.southbendin.gov 4 CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committeemember David Matthews asked, With the variance we just saw, could they have fit in the SF-Three (3) District, as proposed? Mr. Divita replied, Yes, a duplex would be permitted outright. We actually see that as a potential benefit to a developer who may have a series of lots and they don't know exactly where the market is going to fall. This helps them not have to have it all figured out on the front end and they can see which one (1) of their products is selling. They would be able to make that change without having to ask for any special zoning permission. Committeemember Matthews followed up, Is there any desire to do a map upgrade and designate some areas as SF-Three (3)? - Mr. Divita replied, I think that will be what we do,ultimately,through our neighborhood planning processes, assuming it is put in place. We could come to that neighborhood and ask them where the appropriate spots would be for this designation. Committeemember Broden asked, Would it be fair to say there are some plans in the works that have contemplated this? Mr.Divita replied, I think that is fair to say. Some developers are very interested in seeing this and potentially taking advantage of it. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, I have a question for our lawyer. I live in an SF-One (1) and I own multiple lots. Is there a conflict of interest for me to vote on this? Council Attorney Bob Palmer replied,No. Councilmember Scott stated, Thank you. Councilmember White stated,I'm looking over the comments we received from the two(2)letters. One(1)of the comments was that housing affordability has typically been a concern for the lower- income households. How would this new designation impact and cause more development in the neighborhoods that are most challenged? What would that look like? Mr. Divita replied, Again, one (1) of the issues in some of the neighborhoods that haven't seen a lot of development is obviously the market costs, especially on the new construction costs with higher costs for labor and building materials. Unless there is some sort of subsidy in place, they aren't really marketable and feasible to do. So, I think this, at least in some neighborhoods, can help change the math where instead of perhaps having one(1)renter in a structure, it might be two (2)renters or you could even live there yourself and provide another unit that is affordable. Again, it would be a smaller unit but could provide income back to the owner of the land or of the primary unit. I'll mention, I think the writer of that letter is referencing the middle-income populations in some of the hotter neighborhoods in the City. Councilmember White stated, That is one (1) concern that I have. As we begin to look at any changes in our zoning. The work we do, not only in the Administration but with the Council, as well,we begin to look at the impact.Hopefully what we do,it will help bring those neighborhoods opportunities for home ownership as well. EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY ( INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend.Indiana 46601 p574.235.9221 (574.235.9173 '11)574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 5 CITY OF SOUTH BEND ! OFFICE OF THE CLERK Mr. Divita replied, Yes, we think this is an important piece in that puzzle. Committeemember Broden asked, To that end, could you share some information about the incremental group and some of the workshops that have been occurring over time? I think this is a good opportunity to incorporate some education on what has been happening. Mr. Divita replied, Yes, so broadly,the City and some other partners have been working with the Incremental Development Alliance. That is a national level non-profit group that pushes small- scale development, so, especially housing at this kind of scale. I think one (1) of their big pieces is encouraging small-scale developers. So,it's not necessarily someone who is mainly a developer, but someone who may buy the lot next door, fix up a home, or build a home or an accessory dwelling unit.They may only do one(1)or two(2)projects in their lifetime.That group has worked with the City on the Zoning Ordinance to make sure it's easy to do those kinds of building projects. Also, they work with the universe of small-scale developers in and around South Bend including the zoning realm, the financing realm and the building programming realms. Certainly, the SF- Three(3)proposal in front of you now is consistent with their recommendations for what is needed in the City. Vice Committee Chair Voorde then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. Brian McMorrow, 105 East Grove Street, stated, As I did at the Area Plan Commission, I'm speaking on behalf of the Home Builders Association of St. Joseph Valley. We came to that public meeting at the Area Plan Commission a few weeks ago with a couple of questions. They were answered by the presentation, much like you heard today and we offered our support to the ordinance as drafted. I wanted to reiterate that again tonight. Thank you. Alan Larkin, 1016 West Washington Street, stated, I've been involved for a number of years in developing properties in the near west. I own one (1) of the old Studebaker mansions on West Washington Street near Tippecanoe Place. And, I own my personal residence which is two (2) blocks west of there. An observation about our neighborhood is that we are a neighborhood of many large historical homes,but I don't think a number of them would be there today had they not been used for a period of time as multi-residential properties. I could mention here, specifically, the Frank Lloyd Wright house which, for a long time was the Avalon Grotto, a group of people organized fish fries. Then there were a number of homes in the area that were run as rental units. I bring this forward simply because if those properties had not been able to do that,they might not be here today. Nothing could have forestalled much of the destruction that has happened to the inner City after the collapse of Studebaker and loss of many large industrial plants. So, the City was simply not prepared to deal with that, and it put all of our housing stock at risk. In the neighborhood close by where I live, almost half of the buildings seem to be gone. There are just large swaths of vacant land. I bought a house in this neighborhood. Walking through my neighborhood and meeting my neighbors, I was informed that many of the houses that were in the neighborhood were for sale only a couple of years ago for$15,000 or even$10,000 in some cases. These are houses that, if we were to build them today, would be much more expensive that are on the market currently for $10,000 to $20,000 now. This kind of ordinance may actually be very helpful to begin the process of doing infill in this neighborhood, where so many of these lots are currently vacant. I've seen it and support this particular process. I know there are some problems EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building',227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 vvww.southbendin.gov 6 CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK from the perspective of people who are very interested in maintaining the historical nature of our neighborhood, but I do believe for a long time it has been extremely difficult to build in the inner City, and this is the kind of thing that will be very helpful. Thank you. Joan Downs, 849 Forest Avenue, stated, I'm not opposed to this, but I have a question and a deep concern. I am in favor of the amendment. Actually, Alan was a perfect introduction. So, I live in the Near Northwest Neighborhood and there are blocks where there are seventy percent (70%) of the lots that are vacant. Being a member of the incremental development group, I have learned many things about development including that cost effectiveness is often very closely tied to scale. It seems to me that one(1) of the things missing from this ordinance is any recognition that as our City is improving, the land will become more valuable. The way to develop it in a cost-effective way is for a developer to buy up, potentially every empty lot in a block, and the ordinance does not protect anyone from them putting a four (4)-plex, cheek by jowl, on every single lot in that block. I think that should be written in such a way that it recognizes that although that might, in some blocks,be appropriate development,it is in many cases not.I think the intent of the ordinance is a softer kind of infill, which recognizes the character and quality of the neighborhood is enhanced by a little of this and a little of that. Living in an historic district, I'm concerned about what a little of this and a little of that is going to look like. There is nothing in the ordinance that, too,should be of concern. So,for instance,in the historic district where I live,there is no protection when it comes to new development. So, if we had an empty lot, they could build any kind of building they want, say a four (4)-plex, and so I think there are aesthetic concerns and scale concerns that the ordinance doesn't address. Maybe it is not appropriate to address it, but I feel like it hasn't been voiced that in spite of the fact this could bring all kinds of good things to our community, there is also a danger. I think as we become more valuable and a more prosperous City, it is not unreasonable to think that a developer might want to buy many empty lots. And because of the scale and efficiency demands, plans and materials for the new development could be very much the same. You could see, cheek by jowl, many buildings that are, from my point of view, overbuilding, inappropriate architecturally, and very much the same, be that infill. I think the ordinance needs to state that is potentially a danger. Tim Corcoran, Director of Planning for the Department of Community Investment with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building,stated,Just to talk a little bit about the historic districts, one (1) of the things that our staff is in the process of doing is updating the design guidelines for the historic districts. They recently received a grant to do so and we are matching part of that grant. One (1) of the things we are very cognizant about is that we don't want to encourage the retrofitting of existing homes.That is part of the reason why that would be a special exception as part of this.That will mean that if someone wants to do it,there is a path,but it comes to you. I feel that is an important piece of that puzzle because there might be an opportunity where it is appropriate,but I think we don't want to encourage that. Mr. Divita stated, We do think, and we want to emphasize, that this is an important tool for infill development on vacant lots in the City. We want to make sure it stays consistent with the scale and character of the neighborhoods.Within our local historic districts,it is reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission for new construction, as well. Councilmember Scott stated,Ms. Downs brought up a good point. If we pass this tonight,and later you are going to fix historic preservation. What happens if someone breaks ground tomorrow? What happens if someone wants to put up a four(4)-plex for infill right now? EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building.227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p574.235.9221:f574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 wwv.southbendin.gov 7 C)CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK Mr. Corcoran replied, They can't because there are no areas in the City that are zoned, currently, for this zone. So, what it means is they would have to come to you for the rezoning. Right now, there are SF-One (1) and SF-Two (2), and those are mapped in the City. There is nothing in the City map that enables SF-Three (3) at the moment. That means there is no property at all, within the City,that is enabled to do this right now. They have to come to you to get a rezoning first(1st) Councilmember Scott stated, Right,but we pass this SF-Three (3), right? Mr. Corcoran replied, If we pass SF-Three (3)tonight, that gives them the opportunity to come to you for a rezoning. But it has to go through Council. Committeemember Ferlic stated, And the remapping has to come before Council, too. Committeemember Ferlic then made a motion to send Substitute Bill No. 14-19 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Broden seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of five (5) ayes. Substitute Bill No. 15-19- CBD Zoning Ordinance Amendment Committeemember Ferlic made a motion to hear the second(2nd)Substitute version of Bill No. 15- 19.Committeemember Broden seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of five(5)ayes. Mr. Wyatt stated, The petitioners are requesting to repeal and replace the CBD, Central Business District of the City of South Bend Zoning Ordinance. This ordinance was drafted to simplify regulations and to stimulate development in the heart of South Bend. Experience using this ordinance provision has shown that development in this district has been unable to meet its full potential. This ordinance also protects the assets in downtown, most importantly the river. This new CBD district seeks to promote a high intensity urban center with a mixture of mid to high-rise Mixed-Use development on a pedestrian-oriented scale. This comes to you with a favorable recommendation from the Area Plan Commission, and I will defer to DCI for elaboration. Committeemember Broden stated, I would like to make a quick comment, just as a sponsor. I would like to thank the Committee for hearing this and the Council for its earlier consideration. This was Council initiated as a text amendment.That pathway is in conjunction with our Planning Department. It was previewed to us as a Council prior to its first (1st) filing which was May 15th Subsequently, Councilmember Dr. Davis, who Chairs the Zoning and Annexation Committee, scheduled both the previous text amendment and this one(1) for a Committee meeting where staff presented. It was available to the public and we were basically introduced to this.Thankfully,there were other Council Members who attended that meeting and they were able to preview it with us. So, I'm eager for this. This, today, is kind of a second (2nd) overview in terms of the elements of this. I have been very supportive of it in its pathway because, similar to the many other text amendments we have taken a look at in my tenure, they all go toward incremental changes to our zoning. We know our zoning dates back to 2004 but we have historically made changes and have really tried to be responsive to the data coming to us from the developer community,residents and things that have been either historically approved by way of the Plan Commission or ABZA.There is data behind this. There is also, I think too, the importance of good developmental standards, getting down to the construction detail and some of that stuff that has informed many of the EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I 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 wwwsouthbendin.gov 8 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK projects we have seen together over the past three(3)and a half years.They are just good elements. I think similarly, while it appears there are a lot of things packed into this, I'm confident of our history of working with it as a community and it has seen some successes. Now this allows us to really pull those things into a more formalized version. This will really drive quality development and in the end, as a Council Member whose district comprises the east side and the East Bank area, I really look forward to the potential that is unlocked by the various provisions in this. We will have the opportunity to hear from the planning staff today. They've worked hard on this. I've appreciated the feedback from Council and members of the community throughout the entire pathway on this. I look forward to their presentation. Thank you, again, for allowing this to be heard today. Councilmember Scott asked, Is there entertainment to respecting the request of the Chair of this Committee to have this delayed? • Vice Committee Chair Voorde replied, If that is the Committee's will, sure. I just thought, given the fact it is on the agenda,that we would go ahead with the presentation,then if the Council wants to continue, we could. Committeemember Ferlic stated, It makes sense with all the people in the room, as well, maybe we should make sure we have a public hearing portion. Then if we decide to continue, we can do that. Vice Committee Chair Voorde asked, Are we good on that? Councilmember Scott replied, I'm good, I'm just asking the question. Council Attorney Palmer stated, We're good on that. If you decide to table it before it gets to full Council, you can have the public hearing at the next Council meeting. You can have it at the Committee level here, as well. Vice Committee Chair Voorde stated, That was my intent. I did not expect to bring this up for a final vote this evening. Let's have the presentation now. Mr. Divita stated, I'll have a couple of my colleagues join me in the presentation as well. First(1st) off, as a reminder, we are talking about the zoning category for the downtown in the Central Business District (he provided handouts which are available in the City Clerk's Office). Some of the rationale behind this includes the continuation of the incremental approach to zoning reform that we've worked on for the past three (3) years, or so. Particularly, we are looking to revise problematic rules and things that tend to trip people up or unnecessarily require variances or other special permissions. We look to make good development easier to do to permit more of the property to be used. We want to promote an efficient use of land and capture the value of land where it's highest which is in or around the downtown area. These reforms, about seventy-five percent (75%) of them are identical, or very similar to, the Mixed-Use District reforms that the Council saw and approved about a year and a half ago. He continued, So, again, from this table(referencing a slide in a presentation which is available in the City Clerk's Office),you've seen several of the rules work toward the better utilization of land. A few are to clarify existing ordinance revisions. Then some add some basic urban design EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.92211574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 sw w.southbendin.gov 9 n,CITY OF SOUTH BEND ( OFFICE OF THE CLERK principles to downtown development. I wanted to highlight this graph showing the land value from an assessment perspective on a per-acre basis. The taller the bar,the higher the value. So, you see the downtown is where those bars are high. So, that is where the City captures a lot of its value from a tax perspective. So, what we have here are primarily modest rule changes. So, since our ordinance went into effect in 2004, this will be the forty-first (41st) text amendment to it. I think about the seventh(7th) one(1) for downtown. We worked in conjunction with a design expert and an alumna of Opticos Design,one(1)of the premier urban design and code-reform companies and consultants in the country. With that consultant, we tested a lot of the scenarios behind the rules you see here. I also wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything, and we had this vetted by a group of developers, especially ones that work in the downtown market. That included architects, real estate professionals and the Home Builders Association. This, again, shows, as part of the development, many scenarios were looked at to make sure the rules we're proposing make sense and work well for real projects. That is the overview I wanted to cover here. He went on, We've had questions that require more explanation than others. One (1) is the proposed ordinance does propose a fifteen (15) foot setback to the river and the East Race. Some of the reasons for that are here (referencing a slide in the presentation). One (1) is to preserve the river bank, so you don't have development right to the edge of the water. Maintenance of the retaining walls is important there. I think it adds an additional safety and resiliency factor. We've seen in recent years some major flooding events and bank erosion as part of that. Mr. Corcoran stated, So,over the last year and a half to two (2)years,the bank stabilization issues we are seeing,this is just north of the dog park area along Niles Avenue(referencing a slide in the presentation). The cracks don't look like much but what happened and what I've been talking to Engineering about is that, in this particular location, the bank is actually sliding into the river. We've seen this in other areas outside of downtown but that is a brand new path and that crack is showing what is happening there. The City is in the process of going through and getting some engineering studies done to investigate how to stabilize the bank in that area, but what's showing here is during the recent events we've had in the last couple of years, this is becoming a greater issue. Also,just near Tuesley Hall, that hole on the lower left is a sink hole that developed over the last year.The picture on the right is them pouring thousands of metric gallons of cement to fix that sink hole. These are real things that are happening. They are unpredictable at the moment and we want to make sure that as these things happen, as we are sure they will probably happen again, that we have the ability to fix these things. The City Engineer, Kara Boyles, sent an email supporting this set back (which is available in the City Clerk's Office) for the reasons she stated in the letter. The City Engineer has to deal with these issues. Helping that out is an important part of this. He continued, The fifteen (15) feet is actually pretty general and is what is there today. So, the blue and yellow lines (referencing a slide in the presentations), given these two (2) buildings are further apart and that is why the distance between the buildings are different, but from the face of Stevenson Mills to the boundary is about twenty-two (22) feet. From the face of the AM General Building to the river is about eighteen (18) feet. So, we see this as a pretty modest setback. This preserves, also, the character of the area that I think we all enjoy as we walk down and utilize the East Race. EXCELLENCE j ACCOUNTABILITY j INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Bvld!South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 1574 235.9173 1TD 574.235.5567,www.southbendin.gov 10 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Mr. Divita stated, So, I think there are certain ecological as well as health and safety benefits to that kind of setback. I think there is also more important value in the activation of the riverfront and the kind of environment it provides. Mr. Corcoran stated, Back in 2016 with Venues, Parks & Arts, there was the Riverfront Parks & Trails conceptual framework that was developed where we had met in multiple public meetings to speak to the future of what our riverfront parks and trails might be. As you can see, in places like Howard Park, right now we are in the process of implementing that. The connective pieces to this plan are the trails that connect these things. I think that started to lay the framework to why we would want to see this from an activation point of view. Committeemember Shein left the meeting at 5:24 p.m. Mr. Corcoran continued,This(referencing a slide in the presentation)is a recent study done by the same company that did our value model for downtown. This is what they call lake effect value capture. The point of this is that as the asset in your community is more accessible to the community, the value of that asset trickles back into parcels that are not just along the river. So, you help by providing access and this particular setback is not about access, but it is about people being able to access the river through the private development. It would help facilitate the idea of pulling some of that value of the river, or the East Race, back into the rest of the neighborhood. Mr.Divita stated,Within that fifteen(15)foot setback,that doesn't mean you couldn't do anything. So, these are the kinds of things (referencing a slide in the presentation) that would be allowed in that space. Again, we are looking for riverfront activation. So, walkways, plazas, outdoor seating areas, porches, fences, and retaining walls would all be permitted within that setback within the ordinance. So, to give you a sense of the scale and what this fifteen(15) feet look like, a non-river environment, looking here on Main Street, the sidewalk is twelve (12) feet wide to the protected bike lane on Main Street. That gets you to about the fifteen(15) feet. If you are talking just to the curb face,it would be twenty-four(24) feet. So,not even the distance to the curb you see on Main Street to the building front. In more of a riverfront context, the outdoor seating area you see at the • Emporium is the kind of environment we are hoping to create here. Generally, that seating area is about fifteen(15)to twenty(20)feet. The area itself,if you include the trail portion,is about thirty (30) feet back. These sort of overlays or over zones, or setbacks, it is not uncommon seeing these in different places in Indiana. A few are highlighted here (referencing a slide in the presentation). La Porte,for instance,goes seventy-five(75)feet back from the ordinary high-water mark.Howard County is one hundred(100)feet back from a one hundred(100)year flood plain.We realize those aren't as intensely used in an urban perspective as something in downtown South Bend.With that, Buffalo,New York has a recent ordinance and they have a one hundred(100) foot setback in their waterfront zone, along lake Eerie. They limited it to twenty-five (25) feet in their intensely urbanized areas. He continued, So, this would be a setback from the property line, and we would measure it just as we do as a setback you might have on your Single-Family home. It only applies to properties that have direct riverfront or East Race frontage. There are a couple examples here (referencing the presentation). In Type One (1), the property line runs along the river and it is a setback of fifteen (15) feet back off of that. If there is an easement running through it,we do have some places in the downtown area where there might be a City trail or perhaps a utility, the easement doesn't really matter and it's still fifteen (15) feet from that property line. The third (3rd) type, we'll see EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 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 11 0 CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK sometimes there is a narrow strip of property that runs along the river. Again, it only applies to that property. So, the next property back, even though you might regard it informally as being riverfront property, it doesn't technically have direct access and so that fifteen(15) feet would not apply to that property. The setback would remain at zero (0) feet. Here, we see it broadly (referencing a slide in the presentation). The blue lines are where that setback would apply City- wide. You can zoom in a bit with some examples. So, for example the Crowe and Press Ganey area,informally people regard those as riverfront property,and there is actually a City-owned piece of property along the river. That trail is there. The setback applies to that City-owned piece of property and it would not affect the Crowe or Press Ganey properties. We also see this along the East Bank townhomes where there is a small parcel owned by the City of South Bend along the edge. Again, from an informal perspective, it might feel like riverfront properties but to this technical definition,they are not. So, this rule would not apply there. He went on, We wanted to look at if there is something out there that is built that would not meet that fifteen(15) foot setback. If you look at here (referencing the presentation), St. Joseph Station at LaSalle Street. There is a tiny corner of The Pointe that gets into the East Race setback. Obviously, a project of that scale,we can design around so you don't get those two (2)or three(3) feet that fall within that setback.The Emporium Building, also, appear at a few points to be within that fifteen(15) feet. The island structure, the one(1) corner would be clipped by the setback. But again, if you shift that three (3) feet north, it's probably not a problem. A portion of the Century Center is, as well. The river-level suites are, of that building. I think if you also ask people what the biggest issue is from a design perspective, the issue you always hear is the interface and the access at the river edge. The island is left to serve that function because the building itself doesn't have that setback. So, again you have buildings like St. Joseph Station which is a great building but, if it was done today, we probably wouldn't build a wall all the way up to the river. Angela Smith, Zoning Administrator for the Department of Community Investment with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building,stated, I have a couple quick things.Another concern raised was with HVAC equipment and the provision there. Again, we adopted what we implemented in the Mixed-Use District and it worked very well. We have not had any issues with it. There are a couple of things I wanted to highlight for the Council. The definition of front yard and front building line. In many of the instances where there was concern of what could and couldn't happen, the ones on the left in the picture there (referencing a slide in the presentation), technically the sign is a structure, so, it probably could happen. That is not,ideally, what we want but we are hoping to tighten that language in 2020. The image on the right, that would be allowed under the proposed ordinance. There would be no concern or conflict with that, at all. Some other things we are trying to accomplish in the ordinance were the downtown design guidelines. Right now, and previous to this, they were very vague. We didn't have anything we could measure or quantify and there were two(2) sets of rules for developers to look at. So,this would help establish and unify those rules. Mr. Divita stated, So, you might have some of these vague statements there like, `Blank, monotonous walls are not permitted."There are other things regarding facade that are really hard to administer. So,instead of those rules where we can't have any numerical value,in the proposed ordinance there are now numerical metrics. This is now more easily met and measured. Mr. Corcoran stated, This (referencing a slide in the presentation) explains some of the setback rules. So, what we have is a minimum-maximum setback of zero (0) to ten (10). The orange area EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY j INNOVATION I INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building!227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574 235 9173 1 113574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 12 CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK represents that area. These are some hypothetical sites.Also to note are the primary and secondary streets. So, on the primary street, the building, and this is an important part, eighty-five percent (85%) of the building must be between zero (0) and ten (10). Now, you don't have to build the building on only eighty-five percent (85%) of the lot. It is eighty-five percent (85%) of the building. On the secondary street, it is fifty percent (50%) of the building. So, some very simple tests are these three(3), and they all comply(referencing a slide in the presentation).The first(1st) building on the left is located at zero (0) and zero (0) on both sides, so, it complies. The one(1)in the middle is set back at ten(10) feet and ten(10) feet, and it could be anywhere between zero (0) and ten (10), and it would also comply. The building on the right where there might want to be a small plaza space at the corner, also complies. Again, it has to do with, in this case, the primary and secondary street is switched to show how each of these things comply as well. He continued, Places that don't comply, on the left, are overly-sized public spaces. Some of these are thousands of square feet. These are all to scale, about one hundred(100)by two hundred(200) feet blocks. The one (1) on the right, we have some examples of downtown right now. The Fifth Third Bank building on Lafayette has parking in front of the building and this would stop things like that from happening. So, we did a little test and looked over the map and all the green marks show buildings that comply,and the places that don't are Burger King,Taco Bell,Fifth Third Bank and some other drive-thru banks. Mr. Divita stated, There was a question on usability, obviously that will be handled through our new zoning ordinance and its reformed pieces. To wrap up, we do have the second(211d) substitute and we want to state what the differences were with that. Ms. Smith stated, Right after meeting with Mr. Matthews today, there were some things we had the opportunity to explain how they would be interpreted. But,to help clarify and make sure those aren't concerns here, we went ahead and added fences and retaining walls to the use of yard section. We clarified the language about the minimum-maximum setback by removing the reference to the elevation view. We added the words "adjacent to" to clarify which property line is along the river. And then we added the word"natural"in front of"stone"just in case somebody thinks about bringing precastings. We may consider a CMU, but they may not. So,the idea is for it to look like the natural features we are encouraging in the masonry. We think these get to the heart of those concerns and there is more we will be able to clarify in the broader update for the 2020 ordinance. Mr. Corcoran stated,The last point is we've added another use to the downtown,which is for Two (2)-Family dwellings, and that is a use change we didn't highlight in this particular presentation, but is part of the packet of information. Vice Committee Chair Voorde then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. Brian McMorrow, 105 East Grove Street, stated, As I did at the Area Plan Commission, Again, I'm speaking on behalf of the Home Builders Association of St. Joseph Valley. As noted in the letter from Area Plan to Council, concerning the action taken by them at their public hearing, the Home Builders Association was generally supportive. We had one (1) concern over one (1) particular portion of the code. As it turns out, there was a meeting that had been scheduled for the very next day. Mike,Tim and Angela came and laid out all that is being proposed.We would have EXCELLENCE ( ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building j 227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 I p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173'I 11)574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 13 C")CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK given a standing ovation to the ordinance as it was drafted, so, I just wanted to share those sentiments with you all today. Matt Meersman, offices located on the 11th floor of the County-City Building, stated, I serve as the Director of the St. Joseph River Basin Commission, and the Commission was created by the Indiana General Assembly to address water quality issues as well as mitigating flood hazards. We look at water resource issues of common concern all across northern Indiana and all the land that drains into the St. Joseph River. So, this is really exciting for us to hear because we are working with communities all the way toward Steuben County to work on local flood plain management ordinances as well as preservation of open space, especially in the areas immediately adjacent to the river. As we know, and it has been said, the flooding we are seeing, we are really trying to make room for the river in a lot of ways. And that is not just from a public safety perspective but also from an ecological perspective in terms of allowing a transition zone. We find that parks and open spaces are really the best uses of the area immediately adjacent to the river. So, I'm really excited about the City looking at something like this. Kyle Copelin, 312 East Colfax Avenue, stated, I've written a statement,to be brief. As a native of South Bend, I'm grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the successful growth of our great City, from multiple vantage points: citizen, architect, developer and citizen member of the Community Investment Committee of the Common Council. I've read the proposed changes to the Central Business District and feel they, without exception, will further advance responsible development while promoting a safe and inviting riverfront for our community and those visiting it. The changes are forward thinking and grounded in new urbanist planning strategies proven in some of the most successful communities around the country. Thank you for your time. Richard Doolittle,4100 Edison Lakes Parkway, stated, I'm with Cressey Commercial. I'm here to talk about just one(1)portion of this new ordinance which addresses the ability to redevelop some of our smaller architecturally significant buildings in the downtown core for one(1)or two (2) flat living. In particular, I'm talking about the Travelmore Building which is owned by Deana Hamilton over here. We have run into a couple of folks that want to build two (2) flats in that beautiful building that once was the residence of the first (1st) Mayor of South Bend. I think that is kind of fun. What goes around, comes around as they say. It might just be an opportunity, but I think the flexibility that this ordinance provides for continued Central Business District growth and revitalization makes all the sense in the world. I appreciate the flexibility it provides. Frank Perri, 3617 McKinley Avenue, stated, I'm a real estate developer for Earth Designs. Our office is soon to be downtown, as soon as a certain office space gets built. Also, I'm representing Greater Old Holdings, an LLC that was created pretty much to do development in the CBD,on the east side of the river. Also, Wharf Partners is finally getting the project off the ground which will be condominiums and commercial space. Over the years, and I've been at this business now since the mid-1980's, I've asked previous Administrations to tackle the riverfront and not turn it backwards. I think the City has done that for many years.From a practical standpoint,I understand the history of it and why it was done,industry and what not. But really,if you want to look at most of the cities that have a beautiful river and, let alone a waterfront like we have and the cascading waters of the dam,nobody has really ever taken that on. So, first(1st)of all,I'd like to compliment the City for tackling the issue of aesthetic in the City. Also, then trying to streamline something that is kind of confusing for developers. I've been in front of you before to talk about the problems I've had getting things done. Primarily with the BZA a lot of times,but also the Council. I applaud EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building'227W Jefferson Bvld',South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.922111574.235.9173I 1D 574 235 5567 www.southbendin.gov 14 C.)CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK the City for doing that. I don't one hundred percent (100%) like every single aspect of this but there is nothing in these changes that would dissuade me from doing continued development and in fact, I particularly like the riverfront aspects because I remember conversations I've had on the Wharf Site and the Cascade Development where we actually gave ten (10) more feet and we are setback twenty-two (22) feet from the water. If it's ever practical to put public space to use in a way in which outsiders visit and then say this is great and invigorating,how many times have we heard about San Antonio, Texas, for example? Although it's a whole different thing, that is what they've done. So, I really want to applaud, again, the cohesiveness in which they did it because I believe it's proactive. It is fairly succinct for what it is. It has to be somewhat lengthy. I'm assured there is a path forward even on the issues I don't like,for example,to maybe change and or modify them. There is still the variance process if we don't like them. And, they are practical. All those things said, I think it's a kudos to the City for doing this. I'm glad it's done, and I only hope we can all take advantage of it and have more development. Tom Panzica, 416 East Monroe Street, stated, Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm with Panzica Building Corporation.We are the architects and builders of the 320 at the Cascade project. When I first (1st) heard of this ordinance and looked at it, I thought, "Oh great, more regulations. Just what we need." That is our normal reaction to ordinances. But on looking through it, and having some of the details explained to me, and drilling things down, I've come to understand the wisdom and the utility of it. I think, primarily, we are most supportive of the river setback requirements because we do believe access to the river is the key to maintaining and improving the property values downtown. I also have to say that I've been a six (6) year member of the St. Joseph County Parks Board. We are instrumental in taking the riverfront trails of South Bend and Mishawaka and extend that all the way up into Michigan. The dream is to get all the way to Lake Michigan. So, I believe as a Board Member of the County Parks and as a downtown builder and developer, access to the river is of primary importance and I think that particular clause is of particular importance. I want to speak in support of it. Thank you. Mark Neal, 321 South Main Street, stated, I am speaking in support of the ordinance. Hats off to the Department of Community Investment and Councilmember Broden mentioned this has been an effort that has been going on for quite some time. I think it even predates 2016. I feel there was even some discussion in 2013 and 2014 of what we could do to make sure we are improving the aesthetic of our downtown. We want to make sure future development encourages other great development that certainly take advantage of the real estate. I speak as a member of the Parks Board and I also echo Mr. Panzica's comments. I think access to the river is important. I think this enhances it. I speak in support of what has been proposed. I appreciate the simplicity of it,actually, in many cases, and as a very small developer downtown, I look forward to doing other things in the community that we think will also enhance the aesthetic, the economic value, and the opportunities in our community. Vice Committee Chair Voorde then gave the floor back to the Committee for questions,comments or main motions. Committeemember Matthews stated, I have a couple of questions. Looking at the slide with the river setback, type one(1) and type two (2), to me, seem to be the same. It doesn't matter if there is an easement or not. Type three (3), it says City-owned property, but could the land owner do a one(1) inch subdivision and now exempt themselves from this fifteen(15) foot setback? EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 j p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 wnnv.southbendin.gov 15 ( ')CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Ms. Smith replied, I don't think a one (1) inch subdivision would probably pass the standards of the minimum lot standards of the minimum lot requirements.But,if they could get all the variances necessary and pass that,then yes, it could happen. Committeemember Matthews followed up, Do we want to close that potential loophole now? Ms. Smith replied, We may look at closing that. Again, they would have to go through all the loopholes of getting that through the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Subdivision Plat Committee and there are a lot of public processes they would have to go through that would allow us to combat that from the very beginning. We can certainly continue to look at that for the 2020 update. I don't anticipate that would be a very smooth process for anyone. Committeemember Matthews stated, I just think if the City's work on acquiring the easement,they are going to have to go through that variance process and they'll set a precedent for the variances along the riverfront. Can you go to the slide that shows Corby's Bar along the East Race? Ms. Smith replied, Yeah, and we didn't have a chance to update this (referencing the slide in the presentation). Mr. Matthews asked earlier today about this little bump in here. That is part of why we used the wording "adjacent to." We updated the language to include "adjacent to" because neither of these property lines are adjacent to the water. So, the setback would apply to this line, and this line,but not that. That was part of the language we updated after our conversation and we didn't have the chance to update the presentation. Our map creator was not available to fix that for us. Committeemember Matthews followed up, And then the north-south line on the east side of the walk area? Could you clarify for us why it wouldn't apply on the north-south line to the east of the walkway? Ms. Smith replied, I guess there could be some question of interpretation of whether or not that is quote,un-quote along the river or adjacent to it.That is not adjacent to the race,specifically.Again, if there was a question of interpretation,that would be challenged to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Mr. Corcoran stated, I might add,in this specific case,there is an AEP easement that goes through here, as well,that is thirty(30) feet wide. So, it already precludes that north-south piece. There are probably other little things like that in other places, to your point. Committeemember Matthews stated, I talked to Joe at Corby's. Is it fifteen (15) feet from the water's edge or from his property line? Ms. Smith replied, His property line. So, it depends on how his deed reads. Committeemember Matthews followed up, Well, he's next to the East Race. Ms. Smith replied, It's most likely a property line. Setbacks are always measured from property lines. Committeemember Matthews stated, I have a concern that in the Central Business District, there are no setbacks for adjacent lots or off the street. I mean, you can build up to your neighbors' EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building:227W.Jefferson Bvld:South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173;TTD574.235.55671www.southbendin.gov 16 ( )CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK property,you can build up to the sidewalks edge,and here we are doing a setback,not even against public right of way,but against a platted parcel that is owned by the City. It gives me a bit of angst, in light of the past couple of years when we sold Blackthorn as a public park,to a private developer. If the East Race could also be transferred ownership to a private developer, now we've created a situation where now we've created a setback from a neighboring property. It seems uncomfortable as opposed to saying we are going to buy an easement from these adjacent property owners and we want that land to be available for public access, don't build anything on it. We are saying,hey, this deeded parcel along the East Race, we don't want you building within fifteen (15) feet of it. Does that mean we could do a zoning amendment and say,hey,we don't want you building fifteen (15) feet from the Mayor's house? Ms. Smith replied, No, I don't think it does. We have vetted this through multiple legal avenues. We've had several attorneys look at this and they are all comfortable. In fact, they think the language is almost not strong enough and they think the setbacks should even be greater,based on other examples,but I don't think there is any concern here with that. Again, it's not that you can't use the property, it's just that there is no building on that area. Mr. Corcoran stated, There is that, but I think to Dave's point, one (1) of the things we are also doing in the 2020 update is we are creating an open space zone. So, basically parks. Currently parks are not zoned parks.They are sometimes zoned SF-One(1),Two(2)or even Light Industrial. Then, what happens is when you want to update the Charles Black Center, you have to go through a whole series of variances that slow down what everybody recognizes as a park. So, when we adopt the new zoning standard for parks, we intended to either zone the East Race as a park or we've even contemplated dedicating the East Race. It would then be like a street. Committeemember Matthews replied, I think that is a safe way to go. It just causes me angst not having that done now when we introduce this language because of the potential precedent of taking a parcel and zoning the adjacent parcel to say you can't go near so and so's own house. Mr. Corcoran replied, I understand that. One(1) of the things we are also doing, we have over the last year, we look at problematic parcels or subdivisions where they were never dedicated. Like, there are roads that go over platted parcels in South Bend. The team is picking out the worst ones and going out and resurveying and doing all the work. No one will ever see that because it's a lot line under, for instance, Chapin Street, that nobody ever knows is there. But that directly affects the adjacent land owners, as you just pointed out. This is part of that same thing that we will be able to do. Committeemember Matthews followed up, Have you reached out to Joe at Corby's about this? Mr. Corcoran replied, I called Joe the other day and I have another call scheduled. Committeemember Broden stated, I did have a letter from Julia McKenna and I will distribute that (which is available in the City Clerk's Office). She was a Climate Champion person who was before us. Reading one(1)line, "I strongly urge the Common Council to adopt Substitute Bill No. 15-19 today to reaffirm our commitment to sustainability as a community." Progress comes through attention to detail and this specifically,the elements and components of this bill,is a detail she highly supports. I am requesting this letter be entered into the record of this bill. I appreciate the length of, and the graphics of the presentation here. The visuals, I think, help support things EXCELLENCE ; ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 17 C)CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK we have been talking about for some time. I appreciate,in particular,the attention to the questions from residents of the fourth (4t11) district. You also spent time with developers and basically tried to address any questions and concerns.That is significant to me as the representative of the district. Thank you all for your professional attention on this. I appreciate it. Committeemember Ferlic stated, I was just curious, in terms of the Council sponsor, I apologize I didn't see the email from Dr. Davis asking for a continuation. I don't know the rationale as a sponsor, is this something you would like to continue? Are you ok with continuing it? Committeemember Broden replied, I would actually prefer not continuing it. I think we've had significant public input. I think our questions have been lofted and answered. I think it's legally vetted. I have not had any direct questions from Council Members as the lead petitioner on this. I think it's important to note that, one(1),there is recourse and there are pathways embedded in this whole process that if there are some disagreements that come up, there is the variance pathway open to people. I guess I would like to say, too, respectfully, we have tabled this one (1) time. I know there are individuals in the community that have projects before the planning division and I fully support this, and I would like to vote on this. I did receive a nine (9) zero (0) vote from the Area Plan Commission. Vice Committee Chair Voorde stated, I went into this meeting thinking it would probably be continued.That is not just because Dr. Davis requested it,but because Mr. Corcoran said last week that he is perfectly comfortable with having it continued to the next meeting. So, I assumed it would go without controversy. Councilmember Scott stated, I've heard from five (5) different developers and architects, today, that were asking about these changes that they heard about through the grapevine. That is another reason for the delay. The other thing, too,is I've been on the Council for eight(8) years and I was taught by members who had been on here for a lot longer. When that request is asked for, and I've had plenty of Council Members that didn't get along, but they respected that. Especially a Chair, they were respected for that, too. With all due respect to you as the sponsor or petitioner, this is the first (1st) time you've presented. Our Attorney didn't file this, the City filed this. So, the questions on that technicality of sponsorship, petitioner and all that is a little questionable, too. They've done really good work, don't get me wrong. I love the work, I love the meeting we are in,but I've got concerns when I'm getting calls from people,from Bradley Company,Jones Petrie, and other places that are saying they heard about this through the grapevine. We haven't changed this in forever and I don't think we are rushing it at all. I know Chair Davis was looking at having a meeting on July 15th to bring some of the stakeholders here. My question to you, when we had that meeting at the time, was are you reaching out to the stakeholders of the community that this affects the most? What I heard from five (5) of them today was they didn't have anything, really, to know what was going on with it. I have concerns with that. Mr. Matthews has also brought up some good points. Even Mr. Perri said there are a few things. If we want to get it right, let's get it right. Let's not rush it on that. I don't need a comment back, I'm just saying what I'm asking for, as far as the delay. Vice Committee Chair Voorde stated, We need to be mindful of the fact that this Committee recommendation to the full Council is just that, a recommendation. The full Council tonight, as this is on the agenda,can determine whether or not it is going to be continued,or even voted down. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 1574.235.9173 I I D574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 18 n CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Councilmember Jake Teshka stated, If it is to go forth to the full Council tonight, absent two (2) members of this Council, and it were to fail, where do we start over? It needs to go through APC again? Council Attorney Palmer confirmed,Yes. Councilmember Scott stated, We need to do that with the changes we have already. Ms. Smith replied, No, if it fails, we have to restart the process. If the changes are made, it's just an affirmation vote at the next Plan Commission meeting which would be next week or a month from next week. Councilmember Teshka followed up, So, I'm not one (1) way or the other. Given that, does that information change how any of the members want to move forward? I would ask then, too, and I understand the time put into this and, again thank you for your work, but if we were to delay it, can you tell us the ramifications of that? What happens if this doesn't happen today? Ms. Smith replied, It would delay the affirmation in front of the Plan Commission by a month. That might slow a couple developments that are ready to go forward by another six (6) weeks or so. Councilmember Scott stated, Or, they get a variance. Ms. Smith replied,No,there is no path for them until this passes.Until this passes,they can't even file a petition. Committeemember Ferlic stated, This is kind of a unique situation, too. We actually have the sponsor who wants to proceed, who has already granted one (1) continuation but the Chair wants to continue,again. I do want to respect both the right of the presenting sponsor as well as the Chair. But the Chair has been already granted one (1) continuation and so I'll just say tonight, I am comfortable just to make sure we are moving forward with the development properties. But again, this is at Committee level. If the full Council wants to continue at full Council, I'm ok with that as well. I defer, someone else wanted to make a motion. Committeemember Matthews made a motion to continue Substitute Bill No. 15-19 to the July 22nd, 2019 meeting of the South Bend Common Council. Committeemember John Voorde seconded this motion which tied with two (2) ayes and two (2) nays (Committeemember Broden and Committeemember Ferlic). Council President Tim Scott broke the tie with an aye vote, resulting in the continuance of Substitute Bill No. 15-19 to the July 22nd, 2019 meeting of the South Bend Common Council. Committeemember Broden stated,I think in fairness to the conversations approved on this,I would like individual Council Members or the individuals that have continuing questions,please submit them to me. I am concerned about the incoming flurry that has been routinely happening on this bill. If we could, in a timely manner, put forth substantive questions and objections, as well as recommendations, that will help us be responsive to the community. We need to be responsive to the professional staff and be respectful of the long pathway this has taken. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson BvldSouth Bend,Indiana 46601•p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 19 n. CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Councilmember White stated, Based on that request, I encourage putting a timeframe on that in regard to those questions. And who will they go through? I think they should be shared with the other Council Members, as well. Committeemember Broden replied that she would be getting out a press release(which is available in the City Clerk's Office) regarding that information. With no further business, Vice Committee Chair Voorde adjourned the Zoning and Annexation Committee meeting at 6:12 p.m. Respec ' lly Submit d, hn V..rde, Vice Committee Chair EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601'p574.235.9221 1574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 w.vmsouthbendin.gov 20