After the new Saratoga Springs City Center expansion plans garnered opposition from city residents and leaders, members of the City Council voted 5-0 during Tuesday's meeting to send the plans before the Design Review Commission.
A request to have the plans go before the DRC was made by the City
Center Authority in an effort to accept in-put on the design and open
up the process, City Center Authority President Mark Baker said before
the motion went to a vote.
In 2007, the City Council unanimously adopted a resolution to make the council the ultimate decision maker over the project that will have a major impact on the city's economic future.
"We look forward to the mayor with his leadership and the council with their oversight to take charge of this process," Baker said.
The decision to send the plans to the DRC will give them the opportunity to review the plans and offer an opinion on the project. The council will then be able to use the board's advice when making their final decision.
"We are looking forward to the dialogue that we will have with the council and the DRC to dispel any misinformation and maybe create some input from the community to make it something the whole city can be proud of," Baker said.
Baker added while there has been some concern over the look of the proposed glass-exterior many people in the community have also called him to show their support for the design. He also pointed to the fact that there was extreme controversy over the original City Center structure when it was first proposed in 1982.
One person to voice their opposition to the proposed design during the public comment portion of the meeting was Adirondack Trust Company President Charles Wait, who was the chairman of the City Center Authority when the building was first designed. Wait said he was disappointed with design of City Center which he likened it to a "glass-box."
"We spent a lot of time on original design, but I don't think there was nearly as much controversy then as there is now," Wait said. "It is a building that was designed from the inside out, but the outside is what we are going to be seeing and that is going to determine the whole sense of that end of time and we have to be more respective to current architecture in our community."
Wait added that he was glad the City Center Authority had voluntarily agreed to submit the design to review.
"I hope this is a sincere effort to re-discuss this design," he said. "We need a building the whole city can be proud of."
While all five council members agreed to the importance of the project on the future of the city's economy, Commissioner of Accounts John Franck said his main concern is that the DRC does not take into consideration the financial hardship when reviewing a project. He added that he hopes the project is not already rubber stamped.
"I think they need to look at this project like they would look at any other project." He said.
Commissioner of Public Safety Ron Kim said while he thought it was a good idea to refer the plans to the DRC, he would have liked to have seen a motion that was more focused to the concerns of the tight budget that the City Center Authority is working under.
Johnson also brought to light the financial concerns saying the council could lose sight of the budget and he would ask as a practical matter that the committee keep its eye on the "financial bouncing ball."
One thing Johnson said that everyone could agree on is that the project is pivotal for the future of the city's economy and the need to advance the project now.
"The timing of the project couldn't be any better for our community because of the economic downturn," he said. "It's imperative that we proceed as fast as possible while taking into concern the public input about the design."
The DRC is expected to return to the council with their findings on May 19. The council will then make a final decision on how the project should proceed.
"This will give them enough time and meetings for them to do their analysis, as well as giving the public time to give their input to the commission and the council so we can hear what is out there and take it into account," Johnson said.
Baker also noted that since timing was important to the project there would be street work taking place on Ellsworth Jones Place as early as next week. He added that he did not want residents to think this meant the Authority was moving forward with the construction of the building.
"Timing is important to us as we would like to see it move forward in a timely manner, but we also want to make sure the oversight and process is completed satisfactory," Baker said.
In 2007, the City Council unanimously adopted a resolution to make the council the ultimate decision maker over the project that will have a major impact on the city's economic future.
"We look forward to the mayor with his leadership and the council with their oversight to take charge of this process," Baker said.
The decision to send the plans to the DRC will give them the opportunity to review the plans and offer an opinion on the project. The council will then be able to use the board's advice when making their final decision.
"We are looking forward to the dialogue that we will have with the council and the DRC to dispel any misinformation and maybe create some input from the community to make it something the whole city can be proud of," Baker said.
Baker added while there has been some concern over the look of the proposed glass-exterior many people in the community have also called him to show their support for the design. He also pointed to the fact that there was extreme controversy over the original City Center structure when it was first proposed in 1982.
One person to voice their opposition to the proposed design during the public comment portion of the meeting was Adirondack Trust Company President Charles Wait, who was the chairman of the City Center Authority when the building was first designed. Wait said he was disappointed with design of City Center which he likened it to a "glass-box."
"We spent a lot of time on original design, but I don't think there was nearly as much controversy then as there is now," Wait said. "It is a building that was designed from the inside out, but the outside is what we are going to be seeing and that is going to determine the whole sense of that end of time and we have to be more respective to current architecture in our community."
Wait added that he was glad the City Center Authority had voluntarily agreed to submit the design to review.
"I hope this is a sincere effort to re-discuss this design," he said. "We need a building the whole city can be proud of."
While all five council members agreed to the importance of the project on the future of the city's economy, Commissioner of Accounts John Franck said his main concern is that the DRC does not take into consideration the financial hardship when reviewing a project. He added that he hopes the project is not already rubber stamped.
"I think they need to look at this project like they would look at any other project." He said.
Commissioner of Public Safety Ron Kim said while he thought it was a good idea to refer the plans to the DRC, he would have liked to have seen a motion that was more focused to the concerns of the tight budget that the City Center Authority is working under.
Johnson also brought to light the financial concerns saying the council could lose sight of the budget and he would ask as a practical matter that the committee keep its eye on the "financial bouncing ball."
One thing Johnson said that everyone could agree on is that the project is pivotal for the future of the city's economy and the need to advance the project now.
"The timing of the project couldn't be any better for our community because of the economic downturn," he said. "It's imperative that we proceed as fast as possible while taking into concern the public input about the design."
The DRC is expected to return to the council with their findings on May 19. The council will then make a final decision on how the project should proceed.
"This will give them enough time and meetings for them to do their analysis, as well as giving the public time to give their input to the commission and the council so we can hear what is out there and take it into account," Johnson said.
Baker also noted that since timing was important to the project there would be street work taking place on Ellsworth Jones Place as early as next week. He added that he did not want residents to think this meant the Authority was moving forward with the construction of the building.
"Timing is important to us as we would like to see it move forward in a timely manner, but we also want to make sure the oversight and process is completed satisfactory," Baker said.
Main Menu
Leave a comment