2007-02-05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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10 Mr. Stephen Andrew, 2500 Jefferson Park Avenue, said the major thing is the Fontaine/Sunset connector. He said we need to do something now with proffers. He supported closing Old Lynchburg Road. Dr. Joe Mooney, 201 Sunset Avenue, asked for a legal opinion about discussing the proffers when it is not on the agenda. He said proffers were proposed by Biscuit Run and City staff. He said the City needs to stay on message and the Area B recommendations are best. He said the connector is the essential priority. Mr. Scott Burns, 209 Monte Vista Avenue, asked for further study of closing Old Lynchburg Road. He said he is not sure staff is capable of conducting this study. He said traffic counts are needed and someone from the outside should be consulted. As there were no further speakers, the public hearing was closed. Mr. Brown said there is nothing to legally prevent Council from discussing the proffers at this meeting. Mr. Lynch said that closing Old Lynchburg Road and proffers are interrelated. He defended the staff study and said it is intuitive where the traffic is going to go and he does not want to spend $10,000 on an outside study. He said he would consider the closure of Old Lynchburg Road as a last measure. He said we need to get the connector built as well a the Stadium Road connector. He said we have to be forceful to get it done. He said that gets into the issue of proffers. He said he does not want to see anymore City intersections widened and we need a way around the City instead. He said the developer does not want to put money into connectors. He said he is skeptical that rezoning the Granger property will generate enough money to pay for the road as it is a $6 million project. He said we have got to get the connector built and we could get a substantial amount from the proffer toward the connector. Mr. Norris said he wholeheartedly agrees with Mr. Lynch’s comments. He said the issues of safety, speeding and drainage on Old Lynchburg Road need to be addressed soon. He said the traffic volume is another issue. He said he agrees that we need to put pressure on the County to build the connector. He said we need to look at how we make Old Lynchburg Road less appealing to cars. He said we should beef up enforcement there and throughout the City. He said we need to emphasize the connector and as a last resort close Old Lynchburg Road. He said we also need to improve the Cherry, Willard, Cleveland intersection. Dr. Brown said he agrees with the importance of the connector. He said we may not be able to influence proffers in the County. He noted that proffers are voluntary and cannot be forced. He said he is worried that if we proceed in an all or none fashion that we will get nothing. He said he does not like saying if we do not get what we want we will close the road. He said he is confident that one way or another the connector road will be built. He said we should communicate to the County that we feel strongly about this and if the connector road is not going to be built we will strongly consider closing Old Lynchburg Road. He said he is not in favor of closing Old Lynchburg Road now, but will if the County ignores the City. He said he would like to use proffers for improvements the City wants to make to Old Lynchburg Road to make it more bike and pedestrian friendly, but not necessarily to have it carry more cars. He said he would also th favor using the proffer for synchronizing lights on 5 Street. Mr. Taliaferro said sometimes you have to send a strong message and he feels as though we are spinning our wheels. He said he thinks it is right about the possibility of losing the proffers. Ms. Hamilton said she agrees with much that has been said tonight. She thanked the public for being so creative and coming out. She said Council is listening. Mr. Lynch said that when Mill Creek was built the intention was that the road th would cross the creek and connect to 5 Street, but that did not happen. Mr. Lynch said he prefers not to close Old Lynchburg Road today. He said he believes the County is trying to accelerate the connector and he would give them a month to respond.