Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/04/1997

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The AMC 20 in Independence, Missouri, is one of several multiplexes located in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Because these theaters often occur in clusters in such~close proximity to each other, they compete for the game audience, and it remains to be seen how many of these theaters will still be in business two years jqom now. result in noise late at night and possibly in petty crime from teen- aged patrons. In Towson, Maryland, Citizens Against Marketplace Movies fought successfully against the indusion ora 30-screen megaplex in Towson Marketplace, a new development that will now become a power center ofsuperstores without the movie theater. In Burr Ridge, Illinois, a community of about 8,000 people that has no traditional downtown, Citizens Against Megaplex Project defeated a proposed AMC 30-screen multiplex theater in a small shopping center. In Florida, the home of a multitude of multiplexes, the community of Pembroke Pines defeated a proposal for an 18-screen theater in a nearby shopping center. Multiplex theaters simply have not been around long enough for the possible impacts to become clear. Many have existed less than a year, so that the effects of seasonal fluctuations on parking have not been felt. Will the parking be sufficient during the Christmas season? What will happen if associated retail fails to generate enough interest during off-season times to keep movie patrons coming? Will art movie theaters survive? Many small neighborhood theaters have not. Are fears of noise, congestion, and crime justified? There may be environmental problems not ),et manifested. Without sufficient landscaping and the kind of sensitive design exhibited in San Luis Obispo, the extra miles of concrete in expanded parking could result in heat islands and uncontrolled stormwater runoff. More positively, shopping as entertainment and as a way of fulfilling social needs may be beginning to pall. The proximity of coffee shops, boo~tores, movies theaters, and restaurants may humanize public gathering places. It seems likely, however, that given the intense competition in the movie theater business and the extraordinary proliferation of multiplexes--many so close to each other that they must inevitably draw on the same prospective audience--that multiplex mania may become multiplex cannibalism. The next year or so may produce a real shakeout in this area. When that occurs, planners may be able to develop a better sense of the expected impacts of these facilities as they plan for the future. Houston Goes Online For about a year now, Houston has been using Internet technologies in a unique effort to streamline its development review process. Its new program, Technical Assistance in Platting Services (TAPS), allows developers to submit subdivision and development applications directly to the planning department via modem. More than half of the department's regular customers already use the system, and the department expects the program eventually to replace the in- person method of submitting applications. The program, which the planning department created in collaboration with the development community, originally was intended to decrease the time involved in submitting development applications. The projqct's initial phase dealt only with subdivision applications. At first, some developers had questions about who would have access to the information. During training sessions, however, the planning department explained that only people who had established an account with the department would be able to use the bulletin board, where the information would be posted. Since then, the program's subdivision section has been operating smoothly. TAPS saves developers time. It takes from two to six minutes to submit an application through TAPS, and developers no