City Council Minutes 1999 02 16 - Laserfiche WebLink

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problems would be created. He expressed support for a moratorium only if the projects that are currently in the final planning stage are excluded from the moratorium. Cheri Ruskus, 801 Main Street, Louisville, stated that she gave a considerable amount of thought on what she could say to Council that she hasn't already expressed. She asked to address the word 'greed' and its reference to businesses in downtown Louisville. She stated that she couldn't think of one businessperson downtown that is in this for a lot of money or greed. Many business owners, including her, love the downtown area and have invested their life savings in downtown Louisville. These business owners are watching development occur all around them yet the reins are getting pulled in on them. She stated that she helped author a historic preservation plan and is very interested in historic preservation and the character of Louisville; however, small business people cannot continue to wait. She expressed support for a moratorium if it would result in moving forward with downtown issues. During the recent Saturday workshop, residents stated that they would like to see the 'mom and pop' businesses remain downtown. She stated that it could become unaffordable for those businesses to remain downtown. Ty Gee, 253 Hoover Court, Louisville, stated that everyone seems to recognize that Louisville has a historic downtown. He believes historic meant something once, and it cannot be recaptured once it's gone. He stated that the downtown area is a treasure for the entire community. He outlined the two paths that have been proposed to Council. One leans towards an incongruity between buildings, specifically the new three-story building on Main Street. The other is one of trying to maintain historic downtown, which is where he felt Council is going. He urged Council to continue trying to preserve historic downtown by passing a moratorium and rejecting the incongruous path. He questioned the reasoning for excluding any building projects from the moratorium, as they would obviously not comply with the proposed FAR and Framework Plan, if adopted. He felt that the moratorium would allow Council the opportunity to develop a plan for downtown Louisville. He stated that the irony in all of this is that it appears the non-business members of the community will be responsible for saving downtown and not the businesses themselves. Ronda Grassi, 916 Main Street, Louisville, stated that there appears to be a perception that the business owners want to do something wrong for downtown. She purchased the former Louisville Times building, and has remodeled it, at her own expense, to be a very inviting building. She would welcome guidelines that businesses can follow to make their building attractive and appealing. She stated that most of the downtown businesses cannot even afford advertising and would benefit from those who can afford to expand and bring more business into downtown. She expressed support for a temporary moratorium and requested that Council exclude the projects that are currently in the process. Davidson closed the public hearing and called for Council comments and questions. 6