‘Core street’ provision draws ire

Despite a fairly full house, only seven people spoke at a public workshop of the city center zone of the Sprague/Appleway Revitalization Plan on Thursday, and they didn’t have many positive things to say. They largely focused on the same mantra that has been heard before – the new rules are too restrictive and there are fewer allowed uses.

Senior planner Scott Kuhta reviewed the zone’s regulations and its purpose. “This is supposed to be the most active, urban place,” he said.

The plan called for a city center on the old University City Mall site with a new north-south “core street,” a city hall and a library. Those plans have been put on hold.

“Right now there’s not any work being done on a master plan or city hall,” Kuhta said.

The zone regulations include the stipulation that once a binding site plan is complete for the new core street, no other development can occur in the zone until building permits have been issued for the entire core street. “That was one way we tried to get the focus going on that core street,” he said.

It is that provision that drew fire from people who spoke at the meeting. Dwight Hume, who owns a land-use planning business, said the provision was a problem. “That’s a serious flaw in the plan,” he said.

Hume spent time talking about the plan in general and how it can’t be fixed by adding allowed uses here and there. “We’re dealing with the symptoms and not the cause,” he said. “The real issue is the plan itself and to get rid of it.”

He also suggested holding a meeting to discuss the city’s new pre-located streets plan. Some plans show streets going through existing buildings.

“Certainly the city center needs new streets,” said Kuhta. “It does allow those streets to be located other than where it shows in the plan. We have wide, long stretches where you can’t get from Sprague to Appleway.”

Property owner Jack Pring thanked the City Council for taking a “positive stand” and said the city should return to 2004 zoning. “We’ve got to make it easier to do business,” he said.

Kirk Owsley, general manager of Pring Corp., said the new rules are particularly hard on property owners with vacant land. “This is becoming more and more restrictive,” he said.

Jim Magnuson, a co-owner of the University City property, said the city center plan is a “utopia” and was created in a different economic time. “Good goals, but the world has changed,” he said. “You can’t borrow money, you can’t buy property.”