I have often felt that the Planning Department, Commission and City Council base their zoning rulings and recommendations on ‘politics’ and ‘Reindeer Games’ (large developers who promise campaign donations, investment opportunities and golden parachute jobs to resigning city staff get what they want) While the little investor/developer has to beg and scrape his way threw the process to get something as simple as a parking lot.
Take Mr. Pappas for instance. He used to lease his building to Bagel Boy near 26th and Minnesota, when they wanted a bigger parking lot, Pappas attempted to expand it on to land he owned behind his building adjacent to his lot and Spring Avenue, he was denied (two years ago) because he wanted access to Spring Avenue.
Well guess what happened in the meantime? Bagel Boy moved (for more parking).
Mr. Pappas proposed his plan again, this time purchasing more of the adjacent property AND not having access to Spring, in fact, more of a buffer. The Planning Commission Approved the NEW plan at the January 8, 2014 meeting (FF: 1:19, Item 21)
Take into account, he had many stipulations put on him, on top of that this was approved with the OLD zoning ordinances, way in advance of the city election in April (Shape Places had been referred). All Mr. Pappas really had left to do was go get his permit after a private engineer provided him a plan.
Not so fast says the Planning Department, there was an election and you have to re-apply. Huh? Jeffery Schmidt from the Planning Department said on several TV shows (100 Eyes, KELO-TV, CityLink) that if your project had already been approved BEFORE the election, you were good to go. So why is this different? Look at the recommendation for the meeting next Wednesday, DENIAL;
This is not the first story I have heard of small contractors, homeowners and developers getting screwed over by the Planning Department. The worst part about all this is is that Shape Places actually gives MORE power to the internal Planning Department employees to PLAY GOD with your property. I have said all along, you never really ‘OWN’ your property if we allow government to tell you what you can do with it. Money talks once again at Carnegie.