Laserfiche WebLink
Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,June 9, 2014 <br /> Page 32 <br /> Jay Lindgren,Land Use Attorney for Northwestern <br /> Specific to conditional versus permitted use consideration, Mr. Lindgren asked to <br /> speak to that issue. Mr. Lindgren expressed his and the University's appreciation <br /> of the great working relationship with staff over a number of months, and City <br /> Planner Paschke's willingness to pursue this joint proposal to address housing <br /> across the City. Obviously, Mr. Lindgren observed, on behalf of Northwestern, <br /> they would request that student housing be listed as a permitted use in the Com- <br /> munity Business (CB) zone to accommodate this facility. Mr. Lindgren opined <br /> that the CB was distinct from the others being considered and adjacency concerns <br /> to residential areas, which was not the case with this piece of property. Also, <br /> from practical considerations and while not adverse to conditions applying to ap- <br /> proval, Mr. Lindgren noted that there was a timing concern with this request; and <br /> while understanding the City's processes, if they felt favorably to student housing <br /> in this area, asked that they approve this request accordingly in order to allow the <br /> University to close on the property, and move on with the renovation process to <br /> allow those rooms to be available for this fall's school term. If the Council <br /> wished to have more conversation on conditional uses, Mr. Lindgren respectfully <br /> asked that those conditions be determined tonight, but if parking was a primary <br /> use, to him it seemed that CB created a reasonable conclusion for allowing it as a <br /> permitted use. <br /> At the request of Councilmember Laliberte, Mr. Schroeder addressed vehicle <br /> needs of students in commuting between campus and their housing versus for jobs <br /> and/or internships. Mr. Schroeder advised that Northwestern was very much in- <br /> terested in the possible extension of Bus Rapid Transit to the campus to transport <br /> students; however, at this time it was difficult to accommodate student schedules <br /> with current routes and frequency of service; as well as creating additional cost <br /> for the University to shuttle students accordingly. <br /> Public Comment <br /> Tim Callaghan, 3062 Shorewood Lane <br /> Mr. Callahan expressed his views on student parking on streets and spoke in sup- <br /> port of fees for student parking permits, opining that while not being against rules, <br /> a significant parking problem was being generated. Mr. Callaghan opined that a <br /> lot of students parked on Lydia during the winter and were not concerned with <br /> moving cars for snow emergencies or plowing. <br /> Mr. Callaghan asked if a traffic study had been done to determine impacts of ad- <br /> ditional cars in an already congested area; and opined that the campus PUD need- <br /> ed review and any expansion address congested traffic on Lydia and Snelling Av- <br /> enues. <br /> Sam Leiba, Rose Vista Court <br />