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<br />Councilmember Riley commented that he would advocate for a pause for all of the development <br />to catch up. He stated that Ramsey was successful getting apartments built, with at least six <br />buildings in The COR. He stated that the housing part has come forward and the eat and shop <br />options need the opportunity to catch up. He proposed that City land not be sold for apartments at <br />this time. <br /> <br />Councilmember Howell stated that she would also like to focus on allowing other types of <br />development to catch up and pause multifamily housing within The COR. <br /> <br />Councilmember Woestehoff asked if potential projects would come in on parcels already zoned <br />for high density residential. <br /> <br />Deputy City Administrator Gladhill stated that there has been a request for multifamily housing <br />on the old Diamonds parcel, which is not currently zoned for that use. He stated that typically <br />multifamily housing comes with some type of economic assistance request. <br /> <br />Councilmember Musgrove stated that she would agree to pause apartments and focus on the other <br />types of development. She asked if there is information known as to the availability of the <br />apartments in The COR. <br /> <br />Deputy City Administrator Gladhill replied that before the pandemic the workforce units were <br />filling prior to completion of the building with a waiting list developed. He stated that market rate <br />apartments were filling within one year to 18 months. He stated that he has not yet received <br />information on the senior and market rate apartments that have recently been completed. <br /> <br />Planning Commissioner Chairperson Randy Bauer stated that the Planning Commission is very <br />interested in this topic. He stated that this was scheduled for a previous worksession discussion, <br />but the time ran short. He stated that when reviewing the plan for The COR there are areas <br />designated for multifamily, both developed and not yet developed. He stated that retailers want to <br />see rooftops before they felt it economically feasible to open retail in The COR, therefore the two <br />developments work hand in hand. He stated that pausing multifamily with the desire to attract <br />retail could actually create the opposite action. He stated that many retailers are not going forward <br />because of COVID but housing continues. He stated that this would be an opportunity to allow <br />additional multifamily housing developments to come forward in The COR which will in turn <br />attract retailers when they come back to the market after COVID. <br /> <br />Councilmember Specht commented that in a previous case related to the potential for billboards a <br />comment was made that population is no longer the issue deterring retailers but instead it is related <br />to visibility from Highway 10. He stated that the City can continue to offer affordable housing in <br />small detached single-family homes and pause multifamily development. <br /> <br />Planning Commissioner Gary VanScoy commented that the development Councilmember Specht <br />referenced has houses beginning in a value of $350,000, which he would not consider affordable. <br />He commented that not all jobs are located within The COR and therefore there should be <br />City Council Work Session / February 16, 2021 <br />Page 4 of 12 <br /> <br />