Tag Archives: Don Gerend

No “corruption,” “cronyism” or “favoritism”

Posted on by
1

On February 16 at the City Council meeting, Town Center resident Michael Rutt spoke. He said he was “angry” and said he was dealing with  “corrupt people” and subject to “favoritism” and “cronyism” with respect to the E zone of the Town Center.

The E zone is a small area in the SE Quadrant involving the Lutheran Church and four residences that were zoned at the current R-1 (one unit per acre). This E zone has come under withering criticism by John Galvin and Rutt over the past two years because a Planning Commissioner, Stan Bump, lives in the E zone. Galvin and Rutt repeated have charged he received special consideration for this zoning. A previous column discusses this.

The charges are without merit. Below is a cryptic analysis of Rutt’s allegations.

Continue reading →

Council nixes steroid Town Center Plan

Posted on by
1

The City Council last night (Feb. 16) voted 5-2 against the plan by some landowners in the SE Quadrant to add a Docket Request in increase the commercial density in their quadrant to 300,000 sf from 90,000 sf and to add about 300 residential units to their allocation.

They back-peddled from their request that the entire Town Center be upzoned so that they would get their “proportionate” increase after this column read their Docket request closely and discovered what they were truly asking for was 2 million sf in commercial zoning throughout the entire Town Center and a 28% increase in residential zoning, or an additional 540 units across the entire Town Center.

Continue reading →

New Era Begins

Posted on by
Reply

A new era begins with the seating of three new members to the City Council.

Tom Odell replaces Jack Barry, a 10-year member of the Council whom Odell defeated decisively in the November election; John James won equally decisively over Erica Tiliacos in his second try, this time for an open Council seat; and ex-TV personality John Curley easily defeated Tom Vance for another open seat.

Incumbents still control the Council, however. Ten-year veteran Don Gerend swamped token opposition to be reelected. Nancy Whitten, Mark Cross and Michele Petitti remain and all are up for election in 2011.

Continue reading →

Conflict of interest at City Hall

Posted on by
3

The last 18 months was rife with conflict of interest at City Hall. Maybe this year will be better.

It started with a proposal by the City staff to identify an area called “the Notch” as a potential annexation area (PAA) for the City’s Comprehensive Plan. This is 44 acres surrounded on two sides by Trossachs in the far southeast part of the City, one side by High Country and fronted by Duthie Hill Road. The Urban Growth Boundary Line (UGB) follows Duthie Hill Road but carves out this 44 acres–the Notch–for reasons that made no sense when it happened.

Continue reading →