My Morning Meeting
I was able to meet with developer Bernie Saulnier and his team this morning to talk about the potential development at 155 Sheridan Street. I am pleased to report that the developer is working very hard to address the concerns that have been expressed and to come up with a viable design that will please the community. At present, I don't believe we've reached that point, but this is a work in progress, and I am hopeful that we will get there.
Today we had a chance to discuss an idea I floated separately to the City Manager and the developer in an attempt to find a plausible solution that would allow the developer to proceed with his design in a new direction.
Today we had a chance to discuss an idea I floated separately to the City Manager and the developer in an attempt to find a plausible solution that would allow the developer to proceed with his design in a new direction.
Lower and Wider
It had been my hope that the City could offer a land swap of sorts to allow the development at 155 Sheridan to be constructed lower and wider, so to speak. My thought was that since the City owns the abutting parcel, on which Fort Sumner is located, it might be possible to subdivide the City parcel and sell the developer a portion of the low lying land fronting Sheridan Street.
In return, the developer would either grant the city air rights above its development, or agree to a deed restriction that would preserve the view from Fort Sumner park in perpetuity. Alas, this doesn't seem like a viable solution.
After speaking with the developer and his team this morning it has become clear that they would not be able to build suitable units on that parcel of land. If you walk up to Sheridan Street, you'll likely understand why.
The grade for the City-owned parcel is even steeper than the grade of the parcel being considered for development. Any units that they constructed on this parcel would have to be built into the hill and would therefore have no egress windows (or any windows at all) at the rear of the building or on either side, except at the front-most portion of the building.
So, sadly... grand idea #1 is a bust.
- Here's the tax map showing the two lots. The City owns 12-Q-15 and the development is proposed on lot 12-Q-12. Zoom in and focus on the lower right corner.
In return, the developer would either grant the city air rights above its development, or agree to a deed restriction that would preserve the view from Fort Sumner park in perpetuity. Alas, this doesn't seem like a viable solution.
After speaking with the developer and his team this morning it has become clear that they would not be able to build suitable units on that parcel of land. If you walk up to Sheridan Street, you'll likely understand why.
The grade for the City-owned parcel is even steeper than the grade of the parcel being considered for development. Any units that they constructed on this parcel would have to be built into the hill and would therefore have no egress windows (or any windows at all) at the rear of the building or on either side, except at the front-most portion of the building.
So, sadly... grand idea #1 is a bust.
Onward
Mr. Saulnier and his team continue to make changes to their original design and they expect to have something new to present to a small group of stakeholders in about two weeks. This will not be a public meeting, but rather a chance for the developer to get one more round of feedback from members of the MHNO Board, the City Council rep (me), and other city officials, such as Planning Director Jeff Levine and Parks Director Ethan Hipple.
After that meeting, Mr. Saulnier anticipates submitting a site plan to the City, and at that point, the City's public process will be triggered. Part of the site plan review process involves neighborhood meetings so that community members have a chance to see the design, ask questions, and offer input. Again, to be clear: because no application has been submitted, that process hasn't yet been triggered.
Notifications of that meeting will be sent to property owners within 500 feet of the development, but anyone can sign up to receive these notifications. To ensure that you are notified of public meetings concerning this development and others in your area, I encourage you to go to the City's Notify Me page and sign up for text or email notifications.
After that meeting, Mr. Saulnier anticipates submitting a site plan to the City, and at that point, the City's public process will be triggered. Part of the site plan review process involves neighborhood meetings so that community members have a chance to see the design, ask questions, and offer input. Again, to be clear: because no application has been submitted, that process hasn't yet been triggered.
Notifications of that meeting will be sent to property owners within 500 feet of the development, but anyone can sign up to receive these notifications. To ensure that you are notified of public meetings concerning this development and others in your area, I encourage you to go to the City's Notify Me page and sign up for text or email notifications.
- Psst! While you're on the Notify Me page, you'll see that in addition to signing up for Neighborhood Meeting notifications, you can sign up for a bunch of other alerts: parking bans, cancellations, police alerts, etc. I encourage you to sign up for everything that interests you, and then, if you find you're getting too much information, go back in and change your settings.
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