The Louisville City Council will start and hour early tonight to decide two major development issues. It is the final chance for an urban renewal district to be approved, which has brought out opposition from www.preservelouisville.org, comments from my blog, and numerous write-ups in the Daily Camera. Read Monday's article here.
Yesterday, just in the nick of time, (whew, what a coincidence) Louisville received a consultant's study that shows the redevelopment plan will net the city $1.2 million per year, eventually. The study was done in the last two weeks to allay fears of Councilors who initially voted against it. After two years of planning, somehow the positive news for the prospects of the development just came together a day before the vote. What a holiday gift to proponents. I haven't seen the report's assumptions or details yet, so my skepticism may be unfounded. Ho Ho Ho! Details please, demands PreserveLouisville.
While the blight study, tax-increment financing and sheer scope of the URD has caught many people's attention, the Markel Homes development proposal has been a bit lower on the awareness list for residents. Perhaps because it is in the northeast corner of town, and the people who raised more of a stink live in Lafayette. Tonight Louisville could approve 350 homes and over 60,000 sq feet of commercial to the old Pow Wow grounds; east of the Black Diamond car wash on the north side of South Boulder Road.
A failed attempt to purchase or trade for a buffer between the development and Lafayette's western edge fell through when Louisville determined the area was not a priority for open space acquisition; the fact that Lafayette approved development right up to their border years ago and now wanted a buffer on Louisville's side didn't quite resonate as a priority either. On the plus side, the towns are working on linking up a trail system, and Hecla Lake will be somewhat preserved from development on all sides.
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