By Scott Unger • Of the News-Register • 

Council takes two sessions to reach decision to deny Gwendolyn applications

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Comments

Bill B

What a joke! Out with the entire council next time. Time for some grownups.

in-the-know

Bill I agree! All I can say is wow

Jean

colossal mistake. ugly buildings that are not worth saving. Please vote this council out.

TTT

Well, we get what we voted for and in this case it’s a anti-business, anti-growth, personal-property right trampling City Council.

I’ll again repeat we should speak with our next vote and I recommend replacing these City Councilors with those Planning Commission members who voted yes if they so choose to run.

Oregonian

Finally. Now Hugh Development can file an appeal, have the appeal rejected and then take it to court for a judge to decide.

CubFan

So sad. This speaks volumes about the priorities of our city council. Not only are the buildings ugly, but they've chosen to turn away an improvement which would have employed 70 people, generated taxes, and drawn countless tourists here. Hmmm

Joel R

Now that Daniel Kiser has succeeded in destroying this project, I can't help but wonder what his next move will be....

Jean

Now I see why the previous owners of the movie theater just let it rot.

BigfootLives

Should they have approved the project, probably, they are ugly buildings and its not my money. But this whole thing is a huge magnifying glass on the hypocrisy of the goat rodeo we have for a historical district and everybodies ideas of a wine utopia. Having said that, kudos for the mayor for standing her ground and casting a tough vote, I've been tough on her before but well done.

I think Garvin summed it up the best.

“They’ve been historic buildings until somebody came with a really big check and now they’re not historic enough. To me, if they’re historic enough to fly the plaque on your wall for the last 40 years, they’re historic enough now to save.”

Drew

Voters, SAVE THE DATE Adam Garvin Term expires 12/31/2024, Zack Geary Term expires 12/31/2024 and Jessica Payne Term expires 12/31/2026

Local Yokel

Big Foot,
Garvin has special interest in the building. That is the only reason it is historic to him. This is all really too bad. The amount of tax money that place could generate would really help when we have a FD begging for help. You can slap a bronze plate with the word historic on anything. That doesn't make it all that more special when it can no longer be used for anything useful in the future. This is how towns begin to rot.

Joel R

I hope the mayor and city council are reading these comments.
I hope they realize that all of us leaving comments come from across the entire political spectrum. They are supposed to be representing us and our interests. We will not forget and will show them the door at the next election. We are all united.
It's actually kinda cool (and rare) to see us come together like this.

Oregonian

If that artist rendering is close to what reality could have been, these people who opposed the project should be ashamed of themselves. Who in their right mind thinks the existing structure is better?

And the restaurant owners who objected based on too much competition in their industry are fools. More upscale restaurants equals more business for all the restaurants.

Envy is part of the equation here.

Airman

What a very stupid mistake! Way to go city council. Make fools of yourselves, again!

Bill B

Question for Mr. Geary and Garvin; did you vote for your constituents or yourselves"

Oregonian

Can you get specific Bill B? What is the conflict you think these two have on this issue?

David Bates

The presumption of stupidity, hidden agendas and bad actors that characterize most of the comments here are uncalled for. This was a complicated, nuanced issue on which thoughtful and reasonable people could and did disagree. Everyone needs to chill.

GrizzlyMountain

It’s so weird that 99% of posts here support the hotel, yet 99% of the citizens who testified in person at the public hearing opposed it. Can someone help explain this discrepancy to me?

SCALEPERSON

Obviously no one is offering the owner's of these "Historical Buildings" the money to restore them. Instead they're tying their hands so they can't even sell them. Who would want to buy them the way they are? I can guess, not the people that are fighting so hard to keep them classified as "Historical". That hotel looked like it would have been a big win for McMinnville.

Forerunner

Ah, let's talk about our beloved city council members: Adam Garvin, Zack Geary, and Jessica Payne. It's truly astonishing how they manage to maintain their positions despite their remarkable talent for negligence. They are like the dynamic trio of incompetence, leading our city down a path of perpetual disappointment.

One would expect that with their experience, they would be well-equipped to address the pressing issues facing our city. However, their lack of initiative and drive suggests otherwise. It's as if they view their positions as mere titles to add to their resumes, rather than a genuine commitment to serve the people who elected them.

Regardless of any external factors, these council members have a duty to serve the best interests of the city and its residents. Yet, their negligence and lack of dedication persist. It's high time we hold them accountable for their inaction and usher in a new era of competent and dedicated representatives who will prioritize the needs of the people. Our city deserves nothing less.

BC

@GrizzlyMountain - when people give testimony, they're supposed to stick to the facts and how they relate to the codes and criteria set forth. To do so, submitting written testimony is really the only way to address the technical aspects. With only 3 minutes to speak, the public is destined to only be able to plead emotionally.

The vast majority of those speaking in favor of the appeal were appealing emotionally, which is not supposed to be considered.

Daniel Kiser did a very good job of sticking to the codes and criteria, but he had 25 minutes to do so. Had he not submitted written and/or given oral testimony following those rules, he likely would have lost.

Did you check into all of the submitted written testimony? That's likely where you'll find all of the folks against the appeal having submitted their testimony. What you saw on your tv, or in the chamber was only the 3 minute emotional pleading, not the technical, researched written testimony - from both sides.

And 99%? I'd love to see your official source for that percentage.

scooter

Most of the people that are disagreeing with this decision are being nearsighted. The huge $$$ of investment outweigh their ability to look at this project and grasp what it could mean for our downtown. Y'all should go down and look at this block. Agreed these buildings are hardly worth saving. I have been in most of them and they are all just brick/masonry boxes.

However, to get a perspective of what this project could look like, look at the KAOS building. Now stack another KAOS building on top of it and triple that building in width. Do you see how that one building would dwarf every building around it.

Picture 4:00 on a Friday afternoon, when the weekend guests will be checking in. Say it's 2/3 full that night. That's 60 cars trying to turn into the valet stand on corner of Galloway and 3rd. Yes most of those cars will go down below but probably not all and certainly not in a matter of a few minutes. Also they are going to have a 150 seat(think GVB) restaurant downstairs and at least an 80 seat restaurant up stairs. As well as the 70+ employees. Where will those folks find parking?

Most of you are saying "what about all the jobs it will create?" Every restaurant downtown is understaffed. We don't have enough affordable housing for our current needs. Where exactly are these employees going to come from, outside of cannibalising our locally owned small businesses. Unless you are advocating for a much more open immigration policy. Hotels of this size do use HB1 visas for employees.

If this project finds life through LUBA and or Lawsuits, you will see a very vocal public who will ask the city to require a much more reduced height restriction and massing for future projects. Also when replacing a building we should have a parking requirement. Meaning this will probably stand out as a monolith for the duration of our lives.

This project is simply too big and will harm the downtown, that I assume you all love for its character. But yeah money!!!!

GrizzlyMountain

@BC At your suggestion, I read the written testimony. 99% of submissions were opposed to the hotel. Source: “My hyperbole, which is more accurate than your contrary claims - you’d know if read the materials.” 10 May 2023.

Jean

how frightening!! A five story building!! OMG!! The last thing Mac needs is more people downtown!! How tragic that would be! I love walking downtown with no people on the sidewalk...it's so peaceful.

Judy

New buildings are found everywhere. Very few communities in this country are lucky to have an historic district. This is the charm of McMinnville. We don't need more low paying jobs. We need more living wage jobs.

Rds

I am assuming most of the commenters here would have profited in 1 way or another but dont have the courage to admit it. Buy some property that doesnt require demolishing historic buildings.

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