SRCC general membership meeting notes - 2/2/2009

 

1. treasurer's report, bob drew--payload pass project payments are complete, david todd succeeded in receiving grants totaling over $16,000 for neighborhood/park improvement projects, we have excess in the molly ivans fund that equals $400+ that can possibly be moved to the general or 4th of july fund. existing members that are less than two years lapsed on membership dues are allowed to vote in next month's elections. new members who haven't paid yet are not eligible to vote in this year's election.

 

2. capital metro update, gerardo castillo--the new rail system will begin testing for a friday, feb 27th debut with march 28th as the grand opening date. the first week of service will be free.

 

3. waterfront overlay, danette chimenti--15 people met for 9 months to produce recommendations to the city which are now ready for review/approval.

MOTION (danette chimenti, 2nd betty weed): srcc supports the findings and recommendations of the waterfront overlay task force. we ask that the city council move forward with implementing these recommendations as soon as possible and that the five priority issues addressed in the executive summary be expedited. further we ask that for projects already under construction which are seeking rezoning and significant additional entitlements over current base zoning, the recommendations from the wotf be imposed to ensure adequate protection of our waterfront and to honor the intention and code in the original 1986 waterfront overlay ordinance. it should be a council priority to hold these projets to a higher standard in order to protect the waterfront both east and west of ih-35. = PASSED

 

4. grayco pud, gayle goff--just east of the srcc there are 20 acres of mf-3 to mf-6 looking to be developed into 1380 apartments plus retail space proposing to use the nearby creek as a water quality pond.

MOTION (sarah campbell, 2nd helen valdez): whereas, a portion of srcc's boundary falls within the east riverside/oltorf combined neighborhood plan area (EROC); and whereas, eroc has experienced a tremendous amount of redevelopment that goes against its neighborhood plan, existing zoning and the objections of its residents, a trend very disturbing to the srcc; and whereas, it has been the srcc's policy to support other neighborhood groups on issues where we are in agreement; and whereas, eroc is faced with yet another huge redevelopment proposal, the south shore district PUD, that invovles the waterfront overlay;therefore, be it resolved: that srcc oppose the south shore district PUD as proposed; that srcc request the PUD to meet the final recommendations of the waterfront overlay task force, both general and specific, and to respect the eroc neighborhood plan; that srcc request the PUD to makes changes toward creation of a development plan truly superior to the basic requirements of the land development code, including but not limited to alternatives for water quality, such as a pond location and treament of its own runoff, as well as offsite runoff; and that srcc immediately notify planning commission and city council members of this resolution. = PASSED

 

5. boardwalk, jean warneke--the city is considering applying for federal stimulus funds to cover the cost of building a boardwalk over town lake that would connect the hike and bike trail from the statesman to lakeshore park. using these funds would force the project to meet ADA compliance meaning the boardwalk would be 14 feet wide as well as 6 feet above the surface of the water.little to no attempt has been made by the city to contact and work with the 500 east riverside residents. the major and council are pushing hard to get this started to it can be ready when the stimulus funds are approved. $2.5 million is earmarked for "final design and construction drawings by early Summer 2009". This is in addition to the $1.7 already allocated to the project (and largely spent) to do the "preliminary design" work thus far.

MOTION (sage white, 2nd toni house): although we support the concept of closing the trail gap we oppose the current design given the following reasons: 1. environmental concerns have not been addressed fully 2. WOTF recommendations need to be adopted prior to the final decision 3. cost 4. design 5. lack of community input 6. the speed of the process = PASSED

 

6. 1313 s congress conditional use permit, steve wertheimer-- continental club is now a registered historic landmark. the owner, steve, with our support, had cs-1 zoning approved for the upstairs gallery space adjacent to the continental club bringing it in line with its current use as a professional office space. he is seeking a conditional use permit to allow him to serve alcohol. an agreement was made with st vincent's to allow the gated lot to be used for parking to satisfy the parking requirements.

MOTION (betty weed, 2nd sarah campbell): srcc takes a position of non-opposition to the CUP and requests the st vincent's parking space be used for employees only and kept locked = PASSED

 

7. 905 e live oak, zone change from sf-2 to sf-3, greg bodel-- after getting feedback from the srcc last month, greg returned with his new architect, steve oliver, to present new plans for his duplex. the new design was well received and kept dimensions and impervious cover well under the limits. the adjacent properties are almost entirely duplexes making this an appropriate upzoning.

MOTION (sarah campbell, 2nd bob drew): srcc supports this request = PASSED

 

8. 1711 kenwood, changing the required separating wall in a duplex from 44.84 feet (50%) to 20 feet, tamara sbelgio--the home has existed as is since 2002 but was built as a duplex without approval prior to having the proper zoning and is now looking for a variance in order to complete the project.

MOTION (molly phillips, 2nd ?): to oppose the variance = FAILED

 

9. historic district, michele webre--1200 houses have been surveyed but they still need volunteers, contact melanie martinez for more information.

 

10. other--

a. the covered dish supper/elections will be march 2nd--come and meet your neighbors while voting in the 2009 executive committee members. all srcc members with dues paid or lapsed no more than 2 years are allowed to participate (so long as dues are made current prior to voting)

b. newsletter deadline feb 5th

c. commander's forum--feb 10th, linder elementary, 2800 metcalfe rd, 6:30-8pm

d. parker lane zoning case ? thursday, feb 12th