Q&A with District 14 City Councilman Jim Love: Riverside/Avondale development moratorium
Last month, District 14 City Councilman Jim Love sent a letter to the city planning and development director, Calvin Burney, requesting a moratorium on any new commercial development requiring PUD, deviations or variance exceptions in several key Riverside/Avondale retail districts.
Those areas include St. Johns Avenue between Talbot and Van Wert avenues and on King Street between Herschel and College streets.
Love, a State Farm insurance agent in the Park and King Street area, said the demand for parking in these commercial corridors is at a “tipping point” and that the district is “in some ways suffering from our own success.” While many residents agree with this assessment, as evidenced at a recent informational meeting for the planned Mellow Mushroom restaurant in the Shoppes of Avondale, others have shared concerns that a moratorium may not be the answer. In a challenged economy, there concern over limiting business growth in an area that is enjoying commercial success.
Following a review of Love’s letter to Burney, the Resident sent Love several questions regarding the request for the moratorium, seeking further information and clarification. The questions, and Love’s collective answer, are printed below:
Questions: Resident
1. As a small business owner yourself, what do you think government’s role should be in private enterprise and business? Is the implementation of a moratorium counter to capitalism and free enterprise?
2. What was the impetus behind writing the letter to Burney requesting the moratorium — what kind of feedback have you been getting from constituents that drove you to this action? Are you representing a collective voice in this case?
3. How does the moratorium become active and how will it be enforced?
4. How will the moratorium benefit small businesses in the area?
5. Business growth in an area can be seen as a good thing in many ways — more job creation, more contract work, etc. Why pause job growth during a weak economic time?
6. Clearly there is demand to be in these neighborhood growth corridors — how will the moratorium help balance supply and demand?
7. What’s the history here — have there been moratoriums in the past that have been effective?
8. In your opinion, what is going to take to establish a solid plan for the implementation of a parking solution in Riverside/Avondale’s commercial centers?
9. Some readers have suggested this issue is a conflict of interest to you because you own a business in the King Street corridor. What do you say in response to those thoughts?
Answers: Love
What should the government’s role be in private enterprise and business? Books have been written on this subject and much is debatable. One of the main goals, in my opinion, is to protect the consumer and its citizens. For instance, the checking of food preparation standards to insure the consumer does not get sick or requiring a plant that puts affluent in the river meet high quality standards are two vital roles for government.
The letter to the Planning and Development Director, Calvin Burney, is partly the result of concerns of residents near the Shoppes of Avondale and the King Street area. They worry about the clogging of traditionally residential streets which could impair their quality of life and could be a safety issue as well. Many of the residents near the affected shopping areas have applauded the common sense approach of a very limited moratorium on new applications for Planned Unit Developments (PUD’s), administrative deviations or other exceptions or variances outside what is currently allowed in order to plan for the betterment of all. This is not a blanket moratorium. If the requested changes are not required then the moratorium does not apply.
This type of request is not new for the Riverside/Avondale area. In fact, in 2006 my predecessor sponsored Ordinance 2006-191-E adopting an interim rezoning deferment for the Riverside/Avondale neighborhood area to restrict rezoning applications which would authorize multi-family and commercial buildings over 35 feet in height. I believe that a study, if done properly, can help facilitate growth by ensuring the maximum success of both new and old businesses while maintaining the livability of the historic district. The best hope to establish a solid plan must include a professional planner with inputs from the residential and commercial community.
You have suggested that some readers may believe that I have a conflict of interest since I have a business in the affected area. I receive no personal financial gain or loss in this moratorium. In fact, the building I am in is also affected by the moratorium. I, like most business owners and residents, want a smart plan to carry us forward into the future balancing the needs of businesses and the residents living in the historic district.
If you have questions or comments regarding the request for moratorium, please send them to [email protected]. We will make every attempt to share them in the July issue of the paper.
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