Here's an article about the results of the latest public meeting:
Property owners divided over River North plan
Greg Jefferson - Express-News
Property owners saw the proposed blueprint for River North's redevelopment Monday night, three months after the city took control of planning for the near-downtown area, but it looked a lot like what many of them had already seen.
Some of the people crowded into Providence High School's cafeteria — at least those who are close followers of the master plan — recognized the work of California-based Moule & Polyzoides. After acquiring it in May, the city left most of the firm's draft in place.
The plan's aim is to forge “a walkable, mixed-use urban neighborhood” out of the 377-acre territory — much of it downtrodden — northeast of downtown, said Richard Milk, community development coordinator in the city's planning department.
The plan sets out four neighborhoods, centering on performing arts (the area between Municipal Auditorium and the Scottish Rite Temple), Broadway, Madison Square Park and the San Antonio Museum of Art.
The proposals include a string of parks along the River Walk extension under construction, parking garages, a plaza adjacent to SAMA and a trolley system. The area would be studded with mixed-use residential, retail and office projects.
Judy Lackritz, owner of a “postage stamp” of land on Avenue B near SAMA, liked what she saw of the plan, saying it would guide the redevelopment that she believes the river improvements will usher in.
“I think we need to get on with it,” she added.
But another property owner, speaking up during a brief question-and-answer session, wanted to know whether the plan was merely pie in the sky.
“I think it's a beautiful thing,” he said of the plan. “But where's the money coming from?”
Milk's answer: from a special taxing district set up for River North, and from private investors.
A not-for-profit spin-off of the Downtown Alliance, which represents property owners, had overseen planning for River North. But opposition surfaced in early spring, with some critics contending a draft plan gave some property owners more favorable treatment.
Others complained they'd been left out of the process, and still others worried about the sweeping zoning changes proposed in the draft.
The nonprofit staged two public presentations of the plan in December and January.
The plan on display Monday covered a territory bounded by Interstate 35 to the north and Houston and Travis streets to the south. Many of River North's properties are zoned for industrial use.
Moule & Polyzoides recommended replacing the existing zoning with so-called form-based zoning, which shifts the emphasis from how a property is used to how it looks. It's little understood, and some River North property owners have chafed at the idea.
Linda Hardberger, Mayor Phil Hardberger's wife, asked Milk to explain form-based zoning. After answering, he noted that whether the plan will rely on that kind of zoning “is an open question.”
Another questioner, Cathey Meyer of the Downtown Residents Association, wanted to know whether the plan would depend in part on the power of eminent domain. Milk said there'd been “no discussion of acquiring property” through condemnation.
Meyer objected to the way the meeting was organized, saying: “The majority of property owners wanted to ask some very basic questions, but they didn't get the chance.”
City officials took a few questions from the floor and then divided the meeting into smaller groups for further discussion. Assistant City Manager T.C. Broadnax said the plan likely would go to City Council for approval early next year after more public meetings.
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