04/05/1978 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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- Betty Niven, Chairman, JHC, spoke for the applicant. She indicated Council action was requested today to avoid inflating costs. She noted that when the project had been initially approved by JHC, the only public benefit included was community rooms. JHC was ready to approve the application on that basis. However, Mr. Tomlinson had been so enthusiastic about the proposed heating system that JHC felt that should be allowed as a public benefit also. Subsequently, when the applicant was costing the system out, he found out it was too expen- sive. He was now asking for waiver of that benefit. The other public benefits remain including 12 units for the handicapped. The heating system to be substituted would be forced air and the project will be very well insulated. Mr. Delay expressed concern, especially in light of the lack of clarifi- cation of what is a public benefit. He felt there should be some offset policy or proposal for extending other public benefits if this one were allowed to be deleted. Ms. Niven said she felt the applicant would be willing to extend the time period of the public benefits. e Mr. Obie questioned the $250 per month rent for a one-bedroom apartment. Ms. I~iven said it should be remembered this is an elevator building and is in Fire District No.1, both of which add to the cost. She said it was hoped that after it was in existence for a year, it would become eligible for Section 8, HUD, for existing housing program. She reiterated that Mr. Tomlinson would appreciate Council taking action today. There was some discussion among Councilors that it might be more appro- priate for Mr. Tomlinson to appear before Council to discuss any changes directly. Assistant Manager said if Council wanted to extend the time for use of public benefits, it could make a motion with the condition that an agreement be reached between City Manager and the applicant. It was consensus of Council that C.B. 1645 would be held over to April 12 meeting to allow Mr. Tomlinson to meet with City Manager to discuss additional proposals. Ms. Niven suggested perhaps Mr. Delay and Mr. Lieuallen might like to sit in on that discussion. Mr. Lieuallen said he would rely on staff to make those determinations. However, he did question what an exten- sion of the public benefit for five years would mean and questioned whether that was a proper request. He wondered if Mr. Tomlinson might have some other proposals. Ms. Niven said it seemed unlikely, but per- haps that might be possible if a clear definition of public benefits were made. She noted that Mr. Tomlinson already was providing public benefits in excess of what anyone could think of or more than could be asked of others. She also said Mr. Tomlinson was going to hold the rent to $250 a month, even with a different heating system. - 4/5/78--13 Zl'