Laserfiche WebLink
residency in the downtown area. He asserted there was no reason not to expand the boundary to the west. He <br />recommended extending the boundary to Lawrence Street or to Washington Street. He expressed hope that the <br />council wanted to see more owner-occupied residences downtown and not just rental units. <br /> <br />Elizabeth Lyon, 2123 Marlow Lane, spoke as part of the potential co-housing development. She related that she <br />had raised her family in a single-family dwelling and they were now grown. She stated that she was an author <br />with four books and had an editing company. She expressed her desire to be part of a co-housing development <br />now that her children were grown, but felt her position was tenuous. She opined that both low-income and high- <br />income people received benefits for housing in the downtown area but middle-income people like herself received <br />none. She urged the council to help the people "in the middle" who want to contribute to the revitalization of the <br />downtown area. <br /> <br />Jenny Gussett, 535 West 20th Avenue, testified on behalf of the co-housing group. She said she had a long-held <br />interest in the community and in enhancing the sustainability and livability of the downtown area. She felt the co- <br />housing development had a unique take on the fulfillment of the downtown goals as it featured multi-family, <br />multi-generational housing and would be an opportunity to model how people could live in a community and have <br />ownership at the same time. She added that it would encourage people to use cars less and walk more and asked <br />that the boundary be expanded to include the site at 11th Avenue and Lincoln Street. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey called for a five-minute break at 8:52 p.m. <br /> <br />In response to a question from Councilor Bettman, Mr. Weinman clarified that the staff recommendation was that <br />low-income housing would no longer be counted as a public benefit by charging the fee, because it was preferable <br />to see the project quality increase. <br /> <br />Councilor Bettman felt the ECO Northwest study did not apply to the West University Neighborhood, as the data <br />was different. She asserted the neighborhood was not a downtown neighborhood. She stated that she had <br />supported the MUPTE for the downtown core, adding that she would support further incentives for that specific <br />area. <br /> <br />Councilor Meisner supported the MUPTE proposal as presented before the council, including its boundaries. For <br />those who requested the boundary be extended to Lawrence Street or farther, he stressed that the discussion had <br />been, for years, focused on the preservation of the neighborhood there. He asked if the co-housing proposal could <br />be allowed to benefit from the MUPTE. Mr. Weinman responded that the boundary could be extended to include <br />that property. <br /> <br />Councilor Nathanson expressed her support for the reinvigoration of the incentive. She asked staff to look into <br />and present information on what it would take to extend the boundary to allow the co-housing development to <br />benefit from the MUPTE and also to include the area between 1st Avenue and 5th or 6th avenues. She said, while <br />true that the council had been explicit about not changing the neighborhood immediately adjacent to the edge of <br />downtown, the northern edge seemed to be of a separate development type. Mr. Weinman agreed to look into this <br />and provide the information. <br /> <br />Councilor Kelly said the staff response to a parcel specific inclusion in the MUPTE boundary was also of interest <br />to him. <br /> <br />Councilor Kelly asked staff to prepare an amendment for the adoption meeting that would include the WUN <br />recommendations. <br /> <br />Additionally, Councilor Kelly commented that, if the City was not expanding the boundary beyond the downtown <br />core, he would not feel a need for the standards that had been added. He supported them because the boundary <br /> <br /> L:\CMO\2004 Council Agendas\M040421\S040421B.doc <br /> <br /> <br />