Bankers Hill/Park West residents meeting held

Over 50 residents and visitors attended the Bankers Hill/Park West Community Association meeting Wednesday evening at St. Paul’s Manor conference room. City council representative Steven Puetz from District 2 informed constituents that he will be leaving his post effective immediately to work on a political campaign in Connecticut, and the new neighborhood representative for Council 2 is Brian Pepin.
Community SDPD officer John Graham reported a few house break-ins and warned everyone to lock doors and close windows. Intruders have been cutting the screens to gain access. He also announced an open house at SDPD Central Division (25th & Imperial) on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 5:30pm to introduce the new commanding officers. Everyone is welcome. Bring questions and concerns.
Most of the evening’s discussion centered around St. Paul’s Senior Homes & Services plans to redevelop their property along Fourth Avenue between Maple & Nutmeg. They will be going before the Planning Commission next Thursday asking for an amendment to the Uptown Community Plan which would allow a rezone of their land from Office/Residential (44-73 dwelling units per acre) to Mixed Use/Residential which would allow 73-110 dwellings. The amendment would allow the eastern portion of the project to extend 12 feet over the 60 foot height limit (to 72′). Several neighbors protested the increased size. Should the request be granted by the city, representatives of St. Paul’s promised that they will continue to outreach to the neighborhood for input as they develop the project. (Above is consulting architect Neville Willsmore with renderings of the six-story design.)
Next up were consultants Glen Schmidt, FASLA and R. Brad Lewis, ASLA, who presented revised design guidelines for the northeast portion of Bankers Hill/Park West incorporating suggestions from the last Bankers Hill/Park West Community Association meeting held on March 18.
Residents are concerned about the 50+ traffic accidents (many involving multiple vehicles) that have recently occured in the area. Happily, we finally are making progress on placing stop signs at strategic locations along the Fourth/Fifth/Sixth corridors to break the speed of traffic. Thank you to City Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer who has played a critical role in moving this process forward.