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« Tonight | Main | Audience weighed in »

We'll call that Item Five

Chamber Southsiders
As the council closed in on a final vote regarding separate Heritage Square measures, it was Margaret in the Middle of Chris Holden and Sid Tyler, who was not happy that affordable housing for families was being excluded entirely from the project. Queue the stream to 4:51.

Bill Bogaard: Are we close on the first four?
Sid: No we're not. I'm not close apparently with anyone else on item two. I'd prefer to take that as a separate vote.
Chris: Isn't it be possible for the clerk to reflect your dissent on item two? So call the roll on the motion and know that Councilman Tyler ....
Sid: Well I feel strongly about it, Chris, to have a separate vote on it. If somebody told me at the time we acquired these properties that there would be no affordable housing there for families I wouldn't have voted to buy those properties, and I dare say ...
Chris: It's affordable for seniors
Sid: Family is what i'm talking about
Chris: But it's a senior project
Sid: this is what weve been trying to do
Chris: We could do a lot of things, we can .. well let's put the family in your district, pick a site
Sid: I'll take it!
Chris: Let's get the trust fund money and let's build something in your distrisct, pick it out!
Sid: It's not a matter of where it is, it's a question of what we do.
Chris: Bring it forward Sid, come with a recommendation, 'Here's a site in my district I want to use that trust fund money to build as many low-income housing as I can in my district,' I'll support you 100 percent, use all the money in your district
Sid: This is a discriminatory thing we're doing to your community.
Chris: To my community? I thought we were talking about a city-wide project?
Sid: I think that's where the need is.

Soon thereafter, Sid helped refine Chris' motion to give the Fair Oaks PAC, CDC, Northwest Commission et al a say in the developer selection ... then voted against it. It wasn't the only tense moment of the evening, as Chris also shared some lower-intensity glaring with Victor Gordo and Margaret McAustin.

Ultimately, it was decided to:

1 - Endorse the revised project concept (unanimous)
2 - Agree to no affordable housing for families (6-1, Tyler dissenting)
3 - Reaffirm city will only contribute the land it paid $8.6 million for (unanimous)
4 - Instruct staff to develop a Request for Qualifications (unanimous)
5 - Solicit input from community groups in the process of selecting a developer (2-6, only Chris and Jacque Robinson supported)

A follow-up motion from Victor passed which had the effect of precluding the various commissions and committees from having a role as it moves forward.

Comments

All of that excitement and it's still a pretty dull meeting.
"5 - Solicit input from community groups in the process of selecting a developer (2-6, only Chris and Jacque Robinson supported)" I don't understand something. Why bother with community based groups to pick a developer? I am not trying to be a smart ass and I know that the previous aborted selection process went seriously wrong. How are the residents anymore qualified than staff to weigh in, whose job it is, to select a developer. Wouldn't we be better served if the community were to set the parameters of the project, i.e. density, affordable, senior vs. family vs. market rate and local hiring, and then have those recommendations be made part of the specifications for the project? As long as all of the negotiated specs are honored who care who builds the darn thing? Or am I missing something? Why did the various committees believe the decision was theirs in the first place? Were the formed as advisory or selection committees? If someone can explain it without cursing please tell me, I want to understand.

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