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In Our Town POSTED: POSTED: Friday May 04, 2001 By Wendy Madar Steps to a Better Outcome A free lifetime supply of Birkenstocks seems only right. Consider the evidence. I'm the oldest surviving Corvallis relative of the Nolans, the family that owned the Harding Building for the first half of the 20th century (the other local relatives are my children and nieces). The building just won a statewide Downtown Achievement Award for its handsome paint job and general spiffing up. Since the Birkenstock store moved into the building 10 years ago I've bought at least a thousand socks there (the number of shoes for my kids must remain undisclosed to protect their privacy). I walk past the corner roughly twice a day nodding my head and thinking "Nice building." The owners, Dee and Peter Wendel, clearly are influenced by the ghost of my Great-Aunt Gertrude Nolan who loved dark red. Ergo, free shoes for me. If you see any flaw in this logic, please let me know. Moving on to a more contentious subject, the rejection by the City Council of the Newman Commons planned development project is extraordinary. This was not an easy call for a council working in a climate that favors (rightly I think) the New Urbanist call for density rather than sprawl. In many ways, this project offered what our new city direction calls for. Unfortunately, it was too much in the wrong place, as the council recognized. The process isn't necessarily over but it really does look as though this plan won't be approved. The developers had requested a zoning change, to mixed use commercial on one portion of the site and RS20 with a planned development overlay on the remainder, which was approved even though the actual plan was not. This means that any new design will require a public hearing. Some developers at this point would be angry and frustrated, but the message here is not anti-any project, but rather pushing for a project acceptable to the neighborhood and community and not requiring so many variances. So far, this has been a fairly civil process. Neighbors who would prefer to keep the old buildings in place gave up that ideal and worked hard for plan alterations instead. The developers did make changes but in the end they weren't enough - the height, in particular, is a sticking point. It's not clear yet what the archdiocese/developers will do next, but one thing should be clear: A building design that works for the community will ultimately work better for the owners as well. Let's hope the dust settles quickly on this round and a new plan emerges that we can all celebrate as a boon to Monroe despite the loss of the Snell buildings. Loss? It seems they don't have to be lost, if George Rohrman, Gary Feuerstein and Dave Livingston can carry off a fine scheme to move the old structures to property they own at Southwest 10th Street and A Avenue. The three have an impressive track record for restoring old buildings with design integrity, an eye for beauty and a focus on older parts of town. Some neighbors at 10th and A are alarmed by the plan and this is understandable, as anything new can turn out to be trouble, and at least one neighbor has long used some of the property for parking. The problems are worth solving given the importance of saving the old Snell houses (assuming the Newman Center goes ahead on replacing them), their natural fit with the neighborhoods that flank the railroad, and the certainty that the Rohrman/Feuer-stein/Livingstone team would do an excellent job of restoration and fitting buildings to site. Fantasy: In the not-too-distant future I will walk down Monroe in the first of my lifetime supply of free Birkenstocks to admire the new, neighborhood friendly Newman complex, then trek southeast across campus to see how the Snell houses are settling in. Only one part of this vision is fanciful. Wendy Madar is a longtime Corvallis resident whose column appears most Fridays. She can be reached at wendy.madar@orst.edu, 752-5211 or 529 N.W. 31st St., Corvallis, OR 97330. Her opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Gazette-Times management or employees. |