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City Council Minutes Page 4 <br /> November 18,2019 <br /> ----------------------------- <br /> Marla Briggs,Briggs Companies, stated she gets an average of two or three calls per <br /> month from people who want to use the site for auto sales. She expressed concerns <br /> with safety due to the building being vacant and defaced. <br /> Kelly Gunderson 17432 Zane Street, stated he is in favor of a car dealership <br /> because he is concerned for safety and a criminal element with a vacant building. <br /> Pat Briggs,Briggs Companies, expressed concerns for criminal activity at the site <br /> and cited examples. He further stated,referring to a newspaper article,he came to <br /> Council on May 15, 2015, regarding the land use for this property and Mayor Dietz <br /> at that time was in favor of moving forward with the Skeeter Boat project because <br /> the area was blighted. <br /> Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. <br /> Councilmember Ovall stated he realizes the importance of a long-term vision for the <br /> city but expressed concern as to what cost. He thought there may be more challenges <br /> with redeveloping the site versus utilizing the existing structure. He felt the vacant <br /> building is a drain on the city budget from a safety standpoint. Councilmember Ovall <br /> stated the auto sales use would be of minimal investment for the developer,help <br /> create jobs,increase safety,remove blight, and enhance the value of the property, <br /> and therefore would improve the tax return without any tax increment financing <br /> funding. He stated he sees the merit of both options but leans toward making a <br /> concession to the applicant as it would be a faster fix and faster return to the city. <br /> Councilmember Christianson stated that auto sales is a logical use of the property. <br /> Councilmember Westgaard disagreed stating because auto sales may have been a <br /> logical use a decade ago, doesn't mean it's the right use now. He stated the Focused <br /> Area Study explains why the property is guided for high density residential and the <br /> long-term planning for the greater area. He stated traffic from this property would <br /> have to travel down to the Broadway Pizza access with additional access points to <br /> Highway 10 being closed. He discussed the bluff river view advantage. He noted <br /> Council has wanted and known of the guidance for this property since 2010. He <br /> stated Council shouldn't change plans and discard all of the time and effort put into <br /> the Comprehensive Plan because activity doesn't happen quickly. <br /> Councilmember Westgaard stated the developer could prepare the site for high <br /> density residential by taking down the building and making it shovel ready if he feels <br /> the existing lot and building are an issue. He further noted the city nuisance <br /> ordinance could be implemented if the building is a drain on city resources. He <br /> stated the applicant had a high density project a few months ago and he is puzzled by <br /> the change. He stated he is not in favor of auto sales because it is not the best use <br /> and intent of the property. He stated it is not consistent with what the City Council <br /> has guided for the area. He stated the applicant has had plenty of opportunity to <br /> develop the site for the correct use and still believes it is a viable option. <br /> UREJ <br />