CC_Minutes_2014_0220 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Special City Council Meeting Thursday, February 20,2014 Page 9 Mr. Rancone noted that this is a possibility; but only his opinion, and sometimes consultants were worth their value and other times not; referencing his lack of it l support for the overlay j district and building location consulting work, opining that was a ot money ust wasted. Mayor Roe clarified that not everyone felt that way. Mr. Rancone noted that it could be debated whether or not it was well-spent tax- payer money; however, before going too far down that line on prescriptive uses, he suggested a "think tank" seeking other opinions. Mr. Rancone opined that the development had been hardened by a number of things, and would remain a citi- zen that these decisions would impact, no matter what happens. However, Mr. Rancone suggested that the main thing is if the City Council goes down the same path for another twenty years, it seemed even more futile. Mr. Rancone opined that a much more productive path would be to change public perceptions based on realistic versus personal opinions and based on professional advice of what will work and why it hasn't worked before, as well as incenting new ideas.Councilmember Willmus recognized the frustration of the development communi- ty when every few years the target gets moved. However, from the other end Councilmember Willmus expressed the City's willingness to get into a collabora- tive planning process; and questioned if that was something property owners would buy into and take ownership in the process and end results. Councilmem- ber Willmus questioned if a consultant came forward, would there be buy in from property owners. Mr. Rancone spoke in support of a collaborative effort, opining that most com- munity development or redevelopment efforts in today's market place seemed to involve public/private partnerships. However, if the City Council was only repre- senting residents and not the commercial community, Mr. Rancone advise that the end result of such a collaborative effort needed to represent all parties instead and allow all opinion, with the end result being an unknown until those discussions were completed. Mr. Rancone opined that it was important for everyone to feel like they were part of the process and could share their opinions, similar to the open discussion tonight and inviting developers to participation. However, Mr. Rancone noted that previous discussion had moved fast before tonight without in- volvement by developers. While there was nothing specific now, Mr. Rancone advised that retail brokers were not looking for large retail areas now, but may come up with several adja- cent properties; and even though no one wants to mention the dirty word `big box," which he didn't consider fair, it would serve as another step to produce an- cillary uses once constructed, which would in turn drive other developers. While it remained up to the City Council to decide, Mr. Rancone expressed appreciation