City Council Minutes 2018 03 20 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes March 20, 2018 Page 11 of 19 expand onto this property On the materials she noted comments on more wood and Tess glass with this project She felt there was middle ground that could be addressed to have more support for the project and to more appropriately meet the City Code. Councilmember Loo asked if this did meet City code as the staff recommendation indicated. Attorney Light noted staff felt it did and Council would make the final decision. Councilmember Loo felt the various boards' recommendations were positive The downtown design guidelines were reviewed heavily. She noted the emails asking for disapproval noted the small town character but a new build should reflect the time it is built, not the past She found the applicant had gone above and beyond and met the parking standard The fiscal model met the guidelines The applicant has bent over backwards to meet the concerns and she was in strong support of this project Councilmember Maloney appreciated the passion of the members of the community. He felt this project had economic benefit for the future as long as the first floor remains retail He did see a parking deficiency. Mass and scale, he felt the front met the intent of the rules but was not as sure on the alley side. The fiscal model is important as a directional model and shows a positive over time but could be argued it could be more finely tuned He was generally in favor of the project Councilmember Keany noted the public interest in this project He asked for staff discussion on the parking especially whether to include the basement area. He did not see the upstairs patio area being used for parking calculations unless there was a use change He wondered if the two story front could be lowered; ceiling height or some other adjustment He wondered if the third story were removed, what the building would look like, it would likely look even bulkier and not as diverse He had heard downtown businesses were struggling and he wanted to continue to enhance the downtown area. Councilmember Leh appreciated staffs work and the thoughtful comments from the public He felt there is sometimes an impression Council has more control over what happens downtown than they do Rules have to be applied as they are now He too was concerned by the massing of the third floor but with the discussion tonight he felt he had a better perspective of how it might actually look. He was confident in the fiscal model Downtown needs people to spend money during the day and supported the regulatory note that the first floor remains retail This project could energize downtown but not change the character of downtown He felt the criteria are met and the project should be approved Mayor Muckle thanked everyone for their participation He agreed with Councilmember Stolzmann and felt there could be a middle ground. The guidelines do give discretion for compatibility with the surrounding buildings He wanted the materials on upper floors to be less glass and metal and more wood and other finishes for reduction of glass, look at other angles. He wanted the front more symmetric on the northern end; not so