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The University Avenue Association (UAA) applauds the City Council and the Planning Commission for doing the zoning overlay for the University  

Avenue Strategic Plan. Many of our members were pleased to participate in the development of the plan.  

In the next 10 years thousands of new residents will be living on University Avenue. It would be short sighted not to anticipate and plan for the services they will need. It is the need for housing and housing alone that is driving current planning. Let’s work together to plan a vibrant retail environment for the people who will live in the housing.  

The UAA is concerned that the current development model on the avenue is not conducive to retail development. As has been noted by Planning Department staff, there has been a trend on the part of developers towards adding a token amount of retail to get the extra floor given to mixed-use projects. Furthermore, the trend is towards having, at most, enough retail parking for a few employees.  

It is important that the Planning Commission move beyond theories of transit oriented development and look at the facts on the ground. Strong retail centers on University Avenue need a mix of small and large retail spaces that serve both regional and local needs and have parking for customers. The strongest demand is for large spaces with higher ceilings. Projects underway or being planned (at 1725 and 1885) on University Avenue between Martin Luther King and Sacramento will eliminate four large retail spaces with approximately 25,000 square feet of retail and 90 parking spaces. The new projects will include 6,700 feet of retail with no parking for retail customers. The developers of the Tune-up Masters project (1698) have made a credible effort to provide workable retail but offer no customer parking. The Satellite Senior project at 1535 will have 6,000 square feet of commercial space but it will be used as office space.  

Zoning rules have a strong influence on retail development and we would like the commission to use its charter wisely. The University Avenue Association requests that the Planning Commission join merchants and neighbors in walking a portion of the Avenue. We also request a meeting with the commission along with both Planning and Economic Development staff to discuss the role merchants will play in the new “village.” Two issues that we would like to review are how to plan for the thousands of new residents who will be living on the avenue and how to approach nodal development.  

The “nodes” described in the University Avenue Strategic Plan are there for only one purpose: to take a long avenue and concentrate retail in certain defined areas. Allowing projects to be one floor higher than in non-node areas was only a step in facilitating achievement of the goal. The proposed zoning changes codify the extra floor while leaving retail rules the same in both node and non-node areas. Our goal should be to develop retail services as the cornerstone of a less car dependent dense infill community. Must we fight just to save what we have?  

Kirpal Khanna is the president of the University Avenue Association.,