Dan’s Tenure
(con’t)
I advised that if they approved it, they would have a Town revolt on their hands. Following P&Z’s recommendation to deny, the council approved Daybreak anyway—and the Town revolted.
Four Peaks. P&Z recommended against the apartment project in the Target center. My vote to deny was less about the apartment use, rather more about the number of units exceeding the zoning ordinance by 100…almost 40%.
The Council had the votes to approve the project in spite of our recommendation to deny. The night of the Town Council vote, I spoke to explain that at a value of $30,000 per apartment unit, approval would be giving away $3 million in land value to the developer over and above the ordinance. I stressed that if Council doesn’t get something for that $3 million from the developer, you aren’t doing the best you can for our town. Someone on the dais turned to the town attorney and asked (off the microphone, off the record) “Can we do that? That sounds illegal.” The Town attorney answered (off the microphone, off the record),“You could. You would have to do a Development Agreement.”
If I am elected as a Town Council member, I will be shouting from the rooftops, WE NEED A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT for any development that exceeds what is permitted in our ordinances! If we give a developer more units than the ordinance allows, we should get a larger contribution than the ordinance requires from the developer, right? And I’m a former developer.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve sought zoning approval and had the proverbial gun put to my head for park land contributions, storm water storage unrelated to my development because the neighbors’ basements flood, sidewalks, playground equipment, lift stations sized for future development and the like. Demanding yes, but, my experiences taught me the importance of fair, balanced requirements that protect the community and foster responsible growth, and this is what I offer as a councilman.