The proposed development at Shoreview Ferndale made it through the City Plan Commission stage with relatively little brouhaha — perhaps Lake Highlands was too busy worrying over other developments to notice that something was happening at the sad old shopping center. Now that the matter is headed to City Council this Wednesday, things are getting louder. As Jeff Siegel mentioned, the Shoreview story — the abbreviated version albeit — even made the evening news last Friday. According to the piece on WFAA, “Neighbors are miffed about a zoning process that some say is secret.”
I don’t really get how anyone can say the process is secret —I mean, goings on at that property have been public since last September when the Proposed Rezoning signs went up.
All you had to do was call the city phone number listed clearly on the sign to find out what was going on and who was involved. I did. With a few phone calls I knew just about everything we know now. Of course not everyone was invited to participate in the “focus groups” from which the property owner Stuart Jones sought the nearest neighborhoods’ input regarding the project—but that doesn’t necessarily make the project in general a secret.
(Granted, when I called Stuart Jones at American Brownfields last September, he didn’t call me back either. But after some persistence, he had Willie Cothrum, CEO of the firm, Masterplan Consultants call me and fill me in on plans for the possible seven-story structure. At the time Cothrum also told me the developers and owners were meeting with residents in neighborhoods closest to the development, which are L Streets/Lake Ridge Estates.)
Here’s a document I received this morning from members of our “neighborhoods’ leadership” illuminating (their take on) some of the points of contention on the matter.
Here’s hoping to generate a healthy discussion on the project:
I’ve driven or walked past that Shoreview property practically everyday for the last 8 or so years. The land is dismal. There’s a church there, and I’ve spoken to the pastor and HE thinks it’s a good idea to redevelop the property—I think he assumes his congregation will outgrow the space soon enough. The property in question serves as a great vantage point for downtown and White Rock Lake. To enjoy the great view of the lake, however, you’d need to be up a few floors. I assume that’s why they want to build upwards a and I don’t think it’s a bad idea. At the same time, because of how valuable that view, we do need to ensure that developers are going to make the most of it.
