A Plan Commission docket heavy on lurid construction porn, but isn't hardcore past its prime?

The Plan Commission's web site section hasn't been updated in a year and a half (it still lists long-departed council representative Shirley Baird as a member), but at least the meeting notice e-mails still arrive, and this one's more interesting than most.

With its Hiddardendum shot popped, the school corporation has earth movers idling on standby, as do the community-minded Kelleys in their build-up to the Summit Springs PUD daisy chain.

An ever eager Scott Wood and a plan commission packed with the usual appointed suspects await conductor Gahan's baton cue to begin the Bolero, with fiddles played by animated TIF bonds in an outtake from one of Chairman Dickey's Disney flicks.

As for me, I dearly hope there's a plot twist. These in-and-outs are so very boring, aren't they?

By the way, do any of them even know what "plot twist" means?

Meeting Notice

To:             New Albany City Plan Commission

                                   

From:        Scott Wood, Director

Subject:    Regular Meeting, November 15^th, 2016

Date:         November 10^th, 2016

Tentative Agenda

The regular meeting of the New Albany City Plan Commission will be held on Tuesday, November 15^th, 2016 at 7:00 p.m., in the Assembly Room (Room 331) of the City-County Building, New Albany, Indiana, at which time a Public Hearing will be held to consider the following petitions:

Public Hearing Item(s):

None

Public Meeting Item(s):

Docket B-39-16:         New Albany Floyd County School Corporation requests a Special Exception to permit a rebuild of the existing school in the R-2, Urban Residential district, at 1452 Slate Run Road.

Docket B-40-16:         New Albany Floyd County School Corporation requests a Special Exception to permit an addition to the existing school in the R-2, Urban Residential and OS (fp), Open Space (flood plain) district, at 4202 Charlestown Road.

Docket B-41-16:         New Albany Floyd County School Corporation requests a Special Exception to permit an addition to the existing school in the R-2, Urban Residential district, at 1020 Vincennes Street.

Docket B-42-16:         New Albany Floyd County School Corporation requests a Special Exception to permit a rebuild of the existing school in the R-2, Urban Residential district, at 2230 Green Valley Road.

Docket B-44-16:         Lisa Livingston requests a Special Exception to permit a halfway house for women in the R-2, Urban Residential district, at 2106 East Elm Street.

Docket P-09-08:         Pat and Pam Kelley request a Secondary Planned Unit Development District (PUDD) for multi-family residential and commercial/office land uses in an R-1, Suburban Residential and OS (ss), Open Space (steep slope) district at 2303-2307 State Street, 220 Woodbine Drive and 2301-2320 Fawcett Hill Road.

Docket C-05-16:         Pat and Pam Kelley request a Secondary Plat approval for an eight (8) lot subdivision in a PUDD, Planned Unit Development District, at 2303-2307 State Street, 220 Woodbine Drive and 2301-2320 Fawcett Hill Road.

Other Business:

           

1)     Approval of Minutes from October 18^th, 2016 Plan Commission meeting 

White Castle seeks permission to replace itself, and Mayor Lite can't wait to dedicate these new sliders.

For a branding mechanism, it's being used quite often in an official capacity -- but don't call it a city seal.

Call it the "Mark of Duggins."

Meanwhile ... didn't the new White Castle at Spring 'n' Vincennes just get built a few years ago? It seems that way, though it's probably been two decades.

Docket S-01-16: White Castle Management Co. requests a Site Plan Review to permit the construction of a restaurant to replace an existing restaurant in the C-1b, Local Business district, at 1701 E. Spring Street.

Baird flips, connector road flops, and the ochlocracy rules.

This happened Tuesday.

Here's the plan commission's climbdown ...

New Albany commission amends plan, removes controversial road from park project, by Daniel Suddeath (N and T)

New Little League fields and a Floyd County park are closer to becoming a reality; however, more hurdles will have to be cleared before the joint project comes to fruition.

But there won’t be a road in the middle of the park ... The New Albany Plan Commission voted 6-4 Tuesday to amend its comprehensive plan to remove the section that called for the completion of Highland Oaks Drive from Kamer Miller Road to Charlestown Road.

 ... and here's the explanation proffered by a crucial "swing" voter.

Councilwoman Shirley Baird, who is also a member of the commission, voted against the variance for the park in April. She said Tuesday the residents of Highland Oaks overwhelmingly opposed the road extension; therefore, Baird voted for the amendment.

Mrs Baird may have been right as to the specific merits of the non-road, but I doubt she'd apply the same logic to a human rights issue, i.e., 9 out of 10 New Albany's supposed "Democrats" oppose same sex marriage, therefore ... well, you get my drift, even if they don't.

So, refresh my memory: First the Mt. Tabor roundabout, then Highland Oaks Drive. How many residents of the Spring, Elm and Market corridors have to fill a meeting to get two-way streets?

Or does "quality of life" even apply to us?

Ochlocracy ... from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ochlocracy (Greek: ὀχλοκρατία, okhlokratía; Latin: ochlocratia) or mob rule is the rule of government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of legitimate authorities. As a pejorative for majoritarianism, it is akin to the Latin phrase mobile vulgus meaning "the fickle crowd", from which the English term "mob" was originally derived in the 1680s.

Ochlocracy ("rule of the general populace") is democracy ("rule of the people") spoiled by demagoguery, "tyranny of the majority", and the rule of passion over reason, just like oligarchy ("rule of a few") is aristocracy ("rule of the best") spoiled by corruption, and tyranny is monarchy spoiled by lack of virtue. Ochlocracy is synonymous in meaning and usage to the modern, informal term "mobocracy", which emerged from a much more recent colloquial etymology.

Uncouncilman Price abstains as Plan Commission overwhelmingly recommends riverfront redevelopment plan.

Considering the fact that the riverfront redevelopment plan described below has been considered by both the redevelopment and plan commissions, and that council persons are assigned to sit on both, isn't it the case that council president Dan Coffey's twaddling about not being informed of it is disingenuous even by his colossal standards of dishonesty?

At any rate, attendee Dan Chandler left the following comment on yesterday's post, "Plan Commission considers the riverfront redvelopment masterplan tonight," and it seems the ideal response to my request for readers to provide coverage of a meeting I couldn't attend. The Wet Knob, was good, though.

Tonight was just a vote by planning commission to recommend to council. This is a land use plan. It's only a tweaking of the existing comprehensive plan with regard to an area along the levee. It is not, nor would be an affirmative vote by the council, be authorization to fund a parking garage/plaza that is envisioned as a part of the plan. The financing needed to implement the plan, except as noted below, was not discussed tonight.

There were maybe 70 people in the audience. Architect Larry Timperman, who developed the land use plan, gave a brief description. Next, Jack Bobo’s architect Mose Putney described the $30M Bobo project. Mose noted that they had a potential tenant interested in taking 80,000 square feet.

In all, there were maybe 5 speakers, each of whom only took a few minutes. Mike Kopp spoke, noting that if he had 10,000 square feet of leasable space, a woman’s apparel retailer from Chicago would move in tomorrow, but that space currently is not available. If these developments took place, that space would be available. Carl Malysz told the commission that the plan has the Mayor’s full support.

There were only a couple questions from the commission. One member asked for clarification on the “high rise” portion of the plan. Steve Price asked Carl if this was the time to discuss costs. Carl estimated the public costs of the parking garage roughly at $12M (800 parking spaced at $15,000/ea.). He noted that if Bobo’s project and the New Horizons project both went in, there would be $70M in direct private investment from those two projects alone. How the $12M would be financed was not discussed (TIF, etc.). Price did not ask a follow-up question.

At one point, a speaker asked for a show of hands of those in favor of the project and virtually everyone in the audience raised his or her hand. No one spoke in opposition to the plan.

The commission voted in favor of recommending the plan to the common council. All votes were in favor, except for Steve Price who abstained. No one voted against.

The commission moved to the next topic and virtually the entire audience exited the meeting.

Plan Commission considers the riverfront redvelopment masterplan tonight.

I'd love to attend this plan commission meeting, but it simply can't be done. NABC has a visiting dignitary coming today, and it's also the release of this year's Wet Knob Hop Harvest Ale, celebrating the founding hop farming mothers and fathers in Floyds Knobs.

In other words, beer drinking duty calls. Any available pinch-hitters? Professor Erika has already published her response: Don't you take my cigarettes away, Doug England..

New Albany hopes planning makes perfect; Public hearing on New Albany’s downtown masterplan is Tuesday night, by Daniel Suddeath (News and Tribune).

It’s been kicked around development and city staff circles, but today will be the first time the public will have the opportunity to weigh-in on New Albany’s Scribner Place phase two plan.

It’s a blueprint designed to steer the city’s future development from East Sixth Street west to the Sherman Minton Bridge. Potential investors, city planners and organizations such as Develop New Albany have been involved in formulating the plan, and the measure was approved by the city’s Redevelopment Commission in July.

The Plan Commission gets its shot at the masterplan at 7 tonight in the third-floor Assembly Room of the City-County Building. A hearing will precede the vote, allowing residents to state their concerns or ideas.