Publication Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2003
First, there was SOFA2
First, there was SOFA2
(October 22, 2003)This isn't the first controversy concerning the neighborhood surrounding 800 High St.
Before Ross' project went before the City Council -- in fact, before the plan was even proposed -a group of 18 residents and developers toiled over zoning regulations for the area. The process, known as SOFA2, took five years and has left its share of bad feelings.
SOFA2 is finally scheduled to be completed by the City Council Monday night, eight months after 800 High St. was approved.
There is lingering controversy about the process because the working group differed over key issues. The group ultimately pulled together to recommend more restrictive zoning restrictions than those currently being adopted by the city.
The South of Forest Avenue area has 29 historic buildings, including some of the oldest commercial buildings in the city. Long known for the small auto repair and car-related services on High Street, the area also includes the highly successful Whole Foods Market, and numerous small professional offices. It is a transition into the Professorville area of historic single-family homes.
The city set the goal of preserving the area's existing character, a goal Larry Hassett -- the working group's co-chair -- contends was betrayed by the 800 High St. project.
"This project is a betrayal of the whole working group process that 18 people worked on for five years," he said.
"The SOFA2 staff work was atrocious," Hassett added, with four different planning directors in five years.
Doug Ross, the 800 High St. developer, isn't enamored of the SOFA2 effort either. "SOFA took five years and should taken five months," he said.
Some, including City Council members, have argued the SOFA2 process should have been finished before considering 800 High St., since that will be the largest project the area would likely see.
Ross said the timing is not his fault. "We were behind SOFA until the very end," he saids said. "We followed it to the (Architectural Review Board) and the (Planning and Transportation Commission)," and then the city jumped 800 High St. ahead of SOFA2 a year ago.
-- Don Kazak
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