Let's continue the discussion from my last post, just prior to this one. The comments made by certain planning commissioners, were, IMHO totally out of line.
Let's look at what that fine body did with the proposed apartment complex at 5700 King Street. They were willing to go along with a five (5) story unit that contained 189 apartments. Now, here's the kicker, they gave a variance for 68% of the units. Huh??? Seems that Shawnee has a requirement that a residential unit have a minimum of 800 sq ft. Well, 129 of the 189 units were well under that.............some were in the mid 600s and some were even as small as 460 sq ft. Wanna know what 460 sq ft looks like? Go outside and look at a striped parking lot. Depending on the striping you will be looking at 2, maybe 2-1/2 spots. Teeny tiny huh? Naturally those are studio apartment units, but still, when you take away kitchen areas, bath areas, washer/dryer set ups etc etc not much walking around room.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the commission also go along with the concept that any excess vehicles could park at city lots. Always thought that overnight parking was not permitted at city lots.
Anyway, methinks the three commissioners who did not (so far) follow Braley out the door might want to consider doing the same.
Willoughby was, IMHO the most egregious for a variety of reasons. He made the comment during the open meeting that citizens should rise up and vote out the council members who voted against the project. Let's take a trip down memory lane. Let's see if "Uncle" Alan remembers. He was appointed to fill the vacancy of a council member who had resigned. The way his nephew by marriage (former Mayor Jeff Meyers) had orchestrated the appointment process resulted in a KOMA investigation by the JoCo DA. That resulted in a scathing letter of rebuke by the DA. Subsequently, when Uncle Alan ran for an actual full term he was soundly defeated. No wonder. His performance as a member of the council was, politely speaking, lackluster.
Some folks have asked me my thoughts about what can be done at that location. Personally, I feel that an apartment set up could be beneficial and blend in, if done properly. If it was kept at 2 or a maximum of 3 stories. Actually, what about a "village" of duplexes, triplexes and even fourplexes. Or, maybe designed like that but two stories. If the designs were right, they could conceivably blend in with the rest of the neighborhood and also add to the downtown area with additional people residing there. But a five story monstrosity.............no way.
