Sorry for coming in late when the discussion is probably over.
Wouldn't this be considered TOD because it's between two transit stations?
If I understood this correctly, now the project can't really be two slimmer towers, but can be one short squat one,
much like this one in Little Italy? Is it really an improvement, or are people more so just rejoicing because they captured the city and planners in an unflattering light?
Edit: Analogy: Imagine there's a giant terrorizing a little town. He is coming in, kicking and stomping on houses, and decides to pick up a giant rock to throw on the townspeople. The people, being terrorized, want him to leave them alone, so they devise a scheme to kill him. At the same time that he's picking up this boulder to toss at them, they show him down with canons and arrows, finally killing the giant. The giant collapses in a big heap upon the ground. The villagers decide to rejoice at their success of felling a foe and defending their village, but what they hadn't thought through was the boulder he was carrying. By collapsing on the floor, the boulder is freed from his grips and tumbles onto the town, flattening it. While they may have succeeding in fixing on problem, they completely ignored another problem they faced, not having thought through their strategy, which ended up doing considerable damage.
It's the same here. Sure, they beat the city and a developer (humiliated them) by getting the buildings reduced from two, 14-16 storey buildings, but instead they're left with one short, squat building that could still have just as many people, but may not be that attractive or "beneficial". They won one victory, but the outcome may still not be as desirable, and they'll get stuck with something that may actually be worse. But no one cares because they bested the city and a developer.
Threaded Mode