More on Muhlenberg

My position regarding the Muhlenberg closing and future of the campus has been that it involves complex issues that Plaintalker is not equipped to address. In the past, I have left the heavy coverage to the daily newspapers, thinking they have resources that a one-person, hyperlocal blog cannot match.

Plaintalker has, however, tried to follow the land use boards and I believe that is where future uses of the campus will most likely be decided. One of my questions on the "Muhlenberg Followup" post was whether any applications had been filed or were anticipated. The answer was that "JFK has submitted a letter to the Mayor and Council requesting that the City rezone portions of the Muhlenberg campus to allow for it to be redeveloped into a mixed use healthcare, residential, educational and retail campus."

*Correction: A re-zoning would take place through the Planning Board, as in the recent TOD-D and TOD-N changes. The process below would take place only if the applicant wished a variance from current zoning.

From my point of view, this is not the same as submitting an application to the Zoning Board of Adjustment with all necessary information and having expert witnesses testify on the merits of the proposal, while the board and members of the public can ask questions in a quasi-judicial setting.

Of course, any applicant is free to lobby elected officials and the community for support. It's just that doing so is not a substitute for the process outlined above. It would also provide the basis for some factual reporting on exactly what is proposed and whether it meets goals of the master plan and zoning ordinance.

Journalists are notoriously bad at math, but if the development envisioned by JFK would produce annual property tax revenue of $2.5 million, it appears that its assessed value would have to be around $35 million if the total tax rate is around 7 percent. (Feel free to correct me.) If so, surely there must be close examination of any proposed project that large, and the land use boards are where that must take place.

--Bernice

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