HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-P&DB-1995-02-15 eitzi
Approved 4/25/95
Planning and Development Board
MINUTES
Special Meeting
February 15, 1995
Present: David Kay, Chair;Sarah Adams;Susan Blumenthal;Anne Clavel; Carolyn Peterson;
Denise Rusoff;John Schroeder. Staff: H.Matthys Van Cort;Charles Guttman;Gary Mongeon,
RKG Associates;Mark Zaharis;Kathy Wolf;other interested parties;members of the media.
This was a regular meeting of the Planning Board, however, scheduled at an unusual time. The
agenda was limited to preliminary Site Plan Review for Pete's Market,and a presentation and
questions regarding RKG's economic analysis of the Wal-Mart project as included in the DEIS.
1. Pete's Market and Liquor Store's Relocation/805 West Buffalo Street
Kathy Wolf, of Trowbridge and Wolf,presented the proposed site plan for the relocated
Pete's at 805 West Buffalo Street. Wolf emphasized that the schedule for this relocation
was extremely tight given that D.O.T.has given notice that all property to be taken for the
Route 96 project must be turned over to D.O.T. by August of 1995.
Board members asked questions on the following matters. Rusoff raised a question
regarding traffic impacts from the proposed store with particular attention to the
intersection of State,Seneca and Brindley Streets. The staff was directed to discuss the
proposal with Dan Cole,the City's Traffic Engineer. Schroeder said that he had concerns
regarding the building's facade. He felt that the strong symmetry of the building created
by the cupola should be reflected in the building's facade panels. Van Cort said that he
thought the building could be resited so as to create a more useable space on the east side
of the building. Zaharis urged the Board to complete its review by the March meeting.
2. Site Plan Review-Wal-Mart.
A. The Board briefly discussed the agenda for the meeting.
B. Presentation by RKG Associates. Gary Mongeon presented RKG's analysis of
the fiscal impacts of the proposed Wal-Mart Store. The presentation summarized the
material that was in the RKG report and provided some new information.
C. Questions from Board Members. David Kay and other Board members asked
Mongeon numerous questions regarding the report.
D. Questions from the Floor. Michael Robinson,Darrell Anderson and others
raised several issues which were answered by Board members and Mongeon.
Minutes of February 15, 1995 Meeting 2
E. Hiring of Attorney for Wal-Mart Review. It was noted at its last special
meeting the Board requested that Common Council provide funds with which the Planning
Board could hire an attorney to assist it in the Wal-Mart review. Van Cort reported that
David Kay and Dom Cafferillo, the City Controller,had asked him to make inquiries as to
whether Wal-Mart would be willing to pay all or part of the cost of hiring this attorney.
Susan Blumenthal had left by this time. Half of the Board members,including Schroeder,
Adams and Clavel,felt that allowing Wal-Mart to pay for this expense would cause an
appearance of conflict. Kay,Rusoff and Peterson were in favor of asking Wal-Mart to
pay for it. Since there was no majority on either side,no action was taken. The Board did
suggest,however,that Wal-Mart might be asked to make a payment which was not
earmarked for legal expenses but rather for application processing. Van Cort was
instructed to discuss this possibility with the applicant's representatives.
C:Kell}hys\Planbrd\2-15mtg.doc