Specific design guidelines for the redevelopment of Lake Forest Park Towne Centre have been adopted by the Council.
The Council unanimously approved a design guidelines ordinance at the March 23 Council meeting, said planning director Steve Bennett.
The guidelines will eventually be the basis of negotiating with a future developer and include recommendations for housing, environmentally friendly building methods and structures, transportation, parking and others.
“It takes the unknown of what is actually going to be adopted out,” Bennett said.
The process of developing and adopting guidelines for the 16-acre site has taken several years. City officials and citizens become involved in planning for redevelopment of Towne Centre after many in the community agreed the mall, developed in the 1960s, is under-used. During the past few years, two phases of planning were completed, which included work from two task forces. The first task force drafted three recommendations for the site and a second task force developed design guidelines.
The guidelines give the Council some say in how the site is developed, as the property is owned by GE Capital. Although there are no guarantees that tentative designs for Towne Centre will be heeded by future owners, city officials have the authority to remove regulatory barriers and position the site for future development with criteria for zoning, building regulations and protection and enhancement of environmental standards.
One last-minute change made to the guidelines was to stipulate a minimum lot size of 15 acres, Bennett said, to reinforce the idea that the Council desires a master plan for overall redevelopment, rather than just a portion of the site.
The guidelines don’t necessarily make the process predetermined, he cautioned, as there is much flexibility built into the guidelines. The guidelines do not specify the maximum height of a proposed development, where redevelopment could start, or the number of units.
The guidelines will be in place whenever a developer steps forward to evaluate the feasibility of redevelopment the site, he said.
Mayor Dave Hutchinson said not having the guidelines adopted when a previous developer showed interested in the site was not a hindrance, as a draft copy of design guidelines was consulted.
The guidelines reflect what community members hope to see at the site, he said, and is a clear statement of what is desired. A development agreement must eventually be approved by the Council.
“It is just a matter of time for someone to pop up,” Hutchinson said about a future developer of the site.
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