BY JAN SEARS
jsears@pe.com
Published: 22 June 2012 05:14 PM
With Metrolink expecting to begin service to Redlands at five rail stops later this decade, the City Council last week took an early step toward planning for development around the stations.
The city’s planning staff is creating new guidelines for development around the rail stops. Those guidelines eventually will be added to Redlands’ general plan, which guides the city’s development.
The idea is to allow higher density, mixed-use development within a half-mile radius of the stations to encourage people to live, shop and work closer to transportation hubs.
However, in 1997 Redlands voters approved Measure U, which created “comprehensive and inviolable principles of managed development” to preserve the city’s quality of life.
Principal Planner Manuel Baeza told the council on Tuesday that the Measure U provisions have created an ambiguity that needed to be resolved. The document states that Redlands cannot add new land-use classifications without a vote of the residents, but it also states that its provisions don’t apply to development directly related to Metrolink stations.
The council was asked to approve a resolution that identifies the importance of the Metrolink stations and states that the new land classifications are necessary to develop them.
The action, which was unanimously approved, removes the requirement for an election.
Bill Cunningham, a former Redlands mayor and leader of the Redlands Association, which developed Measure U, told the council that he was concerned that the change would “designate two square miles at the heart of the city for high-density residential development.”
Such development would have an impact on traffic, he said.
“Not all of those people are going to ride a train between here and Second Street,” Cunningham said, referring to the transit hub in San Bernardino. “With all of the associated impacts on air quality, this could be counter productive.”
The council’s action did not include adopting any zoning changes. Those are still being worked on by the city’s planning staff, Community Development Director Oscar Orci said.
The guidelines would vary from station to station, Orci said. At the University of Redlands, they likely would cater to the student lifestyle and recommend retail and residential projects. Downtown, they may focus on workforce housing along with retail and office development, he said.
Councilman Jerry Bean said he thought the half-mile radius might be too large, especially downtown.
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Any development plans will probably get screwed up by the city manager or mayor.
Harrison, (explosive-outburst) Gardner, Foster and politically correct Aguilar just waged a war against women (and moms and dads and their kids) who reside in the outskirts of Redlands. We taxpayers are the same ones who will foot the bill to pay for the beautification of the 5 stations even though we don’t intend to use MetroLink. Why would we want to take Metrolink to the dumps of San Bernardino? You cite the “improvement” of the Metro system into Virginia…. you and your whitewashed idiocy! The upper scale whites in Virginia (ie Reston, Fairfax, etc) benefit from the Metro system because they WORK IN DC. I doubt the people here in Redlands will take the Metrolink to commute to DC. You liberal Agenda-21-hugging idiots on the Council neglect to mention anything about Anacostia and other non-white areas … Besides…REDLANDS is NOT WashingtoDC nor is it LA nor SF nor Portland…if you like those CITIES (not suburbs) so much ,get the hell out of Redlands and bring all your socialist useful idiots along with you.
Coucilman Gardner, why compare Redlands to the DC area? I also lived in the DC Metro area before and after the metrorail was introduced. I was raised there and lived there for 25 years. The Metro was a good idea for the DC area because thousands of people from the suburbs travel to downtown DC for work (most for the Federal government). DC also attracts millions of tourist from around the world. With limited parking in downtown DC and hoards of pedestrians, driving is insane. That’s why the Metro works FOR DC. Redlands is a completely difference community.
I also know what happens to a neighborhood with major development around Metro stations. I lived in one of those neighborhoods before and after development. My mother currently lives in one of those neighborhoods before and after development. If we wanted to live like rats in California, we would have moved to Los Angeles.
Why does a town the size of Redlands need 5 rail stops?
A downtown focus on workforce housing, retail and office development? Why not focus on changing some of those regulations on businesses ’cause no one wants to start a business in Redlands, Metro or no metro?
Time to vote out the current City Council members before they do anymore damage to this beautiful city.
Let Bean stay since he is the ONLY councilperson who stands for common sense and for our Redlanders!
If Bean votes yes on Super Duper Wally World, he’ll get voted out too, along with Mayor Petey (if he even decides to run) Aguilar. The rest of them could face RECALL!
OK Jerry, Petey, Jon, Paul and Bob, CM Nabar has obviously told staff to “drag their feet” on the Redlands General Plan Update and put off spending the $1M it will take to have a comprehensive look at Redlands’ future.
Tell me this then. How will the City be planning for the proposed Metrolink (that’s right, double-decker high cars running through the middle of town, not Light Rail) and the Transit Oriented Development/ Mixed Use Development (high density) that will be necessary in the vicinity of the stations, by just updating the Housing Element of the General Plan (every five years?) Stupid is as stupid says.
Woooooew!….LITTLE STEVIE WONDER, did you start your own blog site? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA. Under recent comments on this site, if I click on your recent comment then your recent comment on this site comes up, but if I click on your name Little Stevie Wonder, it takes me to a site called ACT, ANTI CORRUPTION TEAM. Are you going to start competing against Inland and IE politics?
LITTLE STEVIE WONDER…..Are you going to let Anti Corruption Unit on your Anti Corruption Team? HA HA HA. Will he write articles for your blog and IE politics?
LITTLE STEVIE WONDER……What will your political commentaries look like? HA HA HA.
ACU…..If it turns out that LSW did indeed start a blog and you are not a part of it, will you tear off his nut sack and wear it as a swimming pool cap because he stole the ANTI CORRUPTION slogan from you?
Red Anon, r u a nut sack?… pure coincidence on the names, ACT and ACU only share a common distain for corruption.
P.S. The site has been up for a couple of years, but isn’t currently ACTive.
Oh, so you failed at that too?
This is a common way that small cities overspend, they compare themselves to other cities. I have seen this done mostly with salaries. It is an excuse to spend as much as possible on frivolous or wasteful things or overpay city salaries.
When you have a household and look at your budget, you don’t go down the street and look at your neighbors budget and site what they are paying for a reference, you base financial decisions off your own budget. It’s ok to compare, but I think egos get involved and people want credit for “accomplishing” large visible things, that they can cite later when running for the next highest up political power.