An important election of Uptown Planners will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, March 4th, at 6pm in the Joyce Beers Community Center (on Vermont Street near Trader Joe’s). Please arrive by 5:50pm and vote for the seven candidates who support the Interim Height Ordinance (IHO). There has been a significant shift in recommendations by Uptown Planners over the last few years because of community involvement and excellent turnouts at these elections. We are now at a pivotal time, and support of this ordinance reflects an alignment and emphasis on community concerns, desires for land use and the planning processes. This Uptown Interim Height Ordinance will place a limit on height in some areas of Uptown until the outdated community plan is revised. Until the IHO is passed, we have to fight inappropriately large/tall projects that are proposed item by item! The seven pro-community candidates are: Ernestine Bonn, Roy Dahl, John Lamb, James Mellos, Steven Satz, Michael Seidel and Leo Wilson. (The eighth candidate, Ian Epley, did NOT vote in support of the Interim Height Ordinance. He has served on the committee for years and represents the old guard which generally favored out of scale development in Uptown.)
PLEASE BRING PROOF OF RESIDENCE such as a driver’s license or a bill showing your name and address on it to Tuesday’s meeting. You are welcome to stay and listen to the candidates’ presentations. Additionally, this meeting includes a final discussion and vote on the IHO draft. The current height limit is 200 feet in our neighborhood. The IHO would limit buildings to 65 feet (about six stories). While speaking to the Hillcrest Town Council at their February meeting, Mayor Jerry Sanders said he thought the 65-foot limit was a good compromise.
