Planning Commission Minutes 2016 07 14

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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes July 14, 2016 Page 23 of 33 Commissioners have to say. I also want to say that if we are leaning towards approving it, I agree with putting in a condition changing away from mature trees to requiring that the City Forester be involved in the process. Moline says I think the hearing today is a pretty good example that we have a great community. There are great communities on both sides of the fence. We have some wonderful new neighbors in North End and we have a wonderful community in Balfour. I don't think we are that far apart. I think there is some room here and we will be able to find something that will work for everybody. I feel confident that we will be able to find a solution here. I heard the applicant mention that they viewed this hearing as their community meeting. If we take that perspective, we will have these kinds of serious discussions and this might be the preliminary stage of those discussions. We might not be able to come to a resolution if this is the first of those public meetings. You might want to consider some collaboration with the neighborhood before and perhaps, you could work some of these things out beforehand. If you look at this as your first public meeting, maybe you don't end up with the resolution. I also am in agreement with some of my fellow Commissioners in that I think the height here does need to be considered. I am not ready to approve the proposal here. I would consider some waiver in the future for a development that respected the neighbors. The reason I can say that is because those initial buildings in Balfour are taller in a part of town where the adjacency to residences is either minimal and doesn't exist. They back up to King Sooper's Plaza area or back up to residences on some of the earlier phases that have an open space buffer first, and then back up to residences in the North End. There is some rationale for those other portions of Balfour being taller but I am not sure that this same rationale exists for this particular facility. It backs to a little open space buffer between this new Balfour proposal and the existing North End development. There is a little slice of city open space in there. I think we might be able to please everyone in the end. I think we can come to a resolution that will work for everyone. O'Connell says I want to address the comments about the collaboration with the community. I am in total agreement with the developers in saying that this is a proper public forum. This is your chance to be heard. There is no requirement that any developer collaborate with communities. We encourage it and it's great, and it might avoid long meetings like this. This is the opportunity and is why we have public notice and all the other rules surrounding open discussion and open forum. I don't think in any way we have any right to penalize the developer because of not communicating with the community. I think it is an eye opener to see what happens when you don't; you get an outrage. It rubs me the wrong way and it is influencing the way I feel to learn that there was no attempt to adhere to the CDDSG prior to coming here. The rules are in place and we are dealing with a completely different environment and context with this development than we were in the previous and initial Balfour developments. There should have been some attempt or something brought forward that is an attempt to adhere to those guidelines. Without that, it makes me even less inclined to approve this. Tengler says like the rest of the Commissioners, I am pulled in both directions on this. Michael and David, I think you did an amazing job putting this project together. I think it is a terrific design and I think it is unbelievably thoughtful. The only thing I would say is that I am inclined to go along with my fellow Commissioners in terms of the height of the building near the new residential; it is the thing that troubles me the most. I am not fussed at all about the fact that there is another structure on this property over 35'. 1 think that bell has been rung and you can't un-ring it. I do wish there had been a little more collaboration with some of the neighbors to figure out if there was another way to address the size that you are looking for with the 55' new residences. Build it more toward the existing Balfour structures rather than the new residential. I am also cognizant of the fact that Commissioner Pritchard and Commissioner Brauneis are not here. With as much ambivalence we have about this, and what appears to be leaning toward a "no" vote, I am going to suggest one of two things to my fellow Commissioners. Either a "no" vote with some recommendations to the developer in terms of what we can do to bring this back next month or continue this. I think a "no" vote would be a more appropriate way to