A fair number of neighbors showed up yesterday afternoon to hear the developers, Kris and Doug, present their development proposal to the city planning commission and the historic district commission. The open comment and question time saw at least 12 neighbors speak to various aspects. Many comments centered around how important the current green space is to the community, and concern that the developers find a way to include more open green space into their plans (which currently have virtually none). Other comments regarded density increase, rental, and architectural issues.
Comments the school superintendent Brian Davis included a recognition that for Holland Public Schools, time is of the essence. If the building is not sold in a year and a half, it will be seized by the state in order to be liquidated. (The sale has not yet been made final).
City Manager and neighbor Ryan Cotton thanked the public servants for what they did, saying that it was joyful to see a third party plan such as this versus the typical alternative to dealing with vacated buildings, and also requested that they consider leaving the sidewalk connecting 11th St. open for public use, pledging City support to keep it cleared and maintained.
Jay Peters, concerned about density and parking garages, said “Lets make sure we do this right.”
Neighbors can continue to be engaged through this process. Stay tuned for other meetings up-coming.
For more information check out the SENTINEL ARTICLE.