The City Council voted 6 - 1 last night to approve a motion to sell the West End property to Kensington Group, Inc. Despite a last minute offer by Nick Bunick to buy the property for his foundation's world headquarters and preserve its use for the city, the $16.5 million offer on the table appeared to be an excellent price according to professional a commercial real estate broker who went over costs and returns associated with its value.
The lone No vote was from Jon Gustafson. It was a difficult decision for the Council since the property represented more than the money involved. But in the end, money became the major factor driving the need to sell it.
The main problems associated with a potential sale - the deal is contingent upon a zone change from OC (Office Commercial) to GC (General Commercial) - is the impact the intended use will have on the Kruse Way traffic and business district, and more importantly, the residential uses that abut the property to the North and Northwest. Businesses that are open to the public, generate traffic, noise and light and are open extended hours or 24-hours a day are not appropriate as residential neighbors.
From a first glance at the Community Development Codes, the main differences in the uses between the current OC zone and the GC zone the developers are asking for are hotels, athletic facilities, parking garages and gas stations - any one of which would cause a major disturbance for the neighbors who have a right to expect a OC zone application.
The idea behind having zoning at all is to protect land owners from having their property being negatively impacted by incompatible uses. Manufacturing is kept separate from retail. High rise apartments are not compatible with single family homes. A gas station in the middle of a residential zone would be horrendous. Good zoning keeps bad things from happening AND provides property owners with a certain amount of security in knowing how the land around them will be used.
When zones change (allowable uses), or when codes change (how the property is developed - height, lot coverage, access, roof lines,materials, etc.), adjacent property owners become anxious about what that will mean for them. The city told them that the land was going tone used in a particular way when they bought their home or business, and zone or code changes effectively breaks that contract. The uncertainty for owners owning property next to or near property that is developable (or ripe to be re-developed) devalues their land. Even if no zone changes or development occurs, the specter of code changes can impact the entire city. When development is done incrementally, the eventual community metamorphosis is not realized.
Selling the WEB property is the right decision. Changing the zoning is not. Applying conditions to the agreement may sound fine, but in the past, these conditions have not worked as planned and the city has been lax in enforcing them. Once built, the problems are there for good.
The next stage of this process is critical to the livability and character of Lake Oswego. Intense commercial growth is not going to go away and we must be able to protect our town with zones and codes that we can all live with.
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