Oak Creek's Target Complex entrance. And lots of asphalt.
Last week Franklinnow.com community blogger Greg Kowalski posted a petition in hopes of sending a message to Franklin officials regarding the cynical "we're just lucky to get one" attitude that seems to prevail regarding the Shoppes at Wyndham Village "upscale commercial center," and, specifically, the deeply disappointing cookie-cutter Target design that has been deemed okey-dokey for the area that is touted as Franklin's city center.
Greg and I don't agree on everything, and I called Greg "idealistic" for his activist stance - - frankly, I get the sense that this is a done deal for which the city will be pretty pragmatic regarding planning standards (or, as an insider put it, "the fix is in"; see my post "Dancing around the UDO"). Also, loyalties to the developer, Mark Carstensen, have clouded the issue (see "The Expectations Game 2: Standing behind the local developer"), and there are persons who feel that a company that contributes charitably (and, incidentally, very profitably public relations-wise) to a community is immune to standards ("Simply put: 'I don’t care what Target looks like'").
And let's not forget the 800-pound gorilla in the room: a developer's first priority is (and SHOULD be) to make a property profitable, not to make it particularly useful to the community in the long term. That's why city planning commissions exist - you cannot count on the developer to do what's best for the long-term vision of a city.
In the case of Shoppes at Wyndham Village, it seems apparent that Mark Carstensen's group has created a site plan designed to conform to their business plan, i.e. eventually sell the Target "unit" (the building and huge uninterrupted parking area as marked in yellow below) to Target Corporate in the near future and hold on to the outlying buildings, from which his group will collect rents and lease payments (a conjecture described in detail with illustrations here).
In other words, the same amount of parking spaces could have been provided along with provisions for pedestrians and community space, but that "package" would not something Target Corp. could eventually buy in whole.
But Mark Carstensen's group shouldn't be vilified for that potential strategy; it's up to the city plan commission to identify the conflicts with Franklin's City Civic Center standards (see the guidelines HERE) and demand (not "suggest") that they be corrected. The developer certainly isn't going to risk losing Target, the lynch pin of the plan, by unilaterally making demands.
In this case, the Franklin Common Council approved the change to an oddly-shaped three-lot plot just over a month ago without any significant discussion.
Greg Kowalski's main issue is with the suburban-wasteland design proposal for the Target building. His Target petition has generated (as of today) 40 signatures; but more importantly, Franklin residents are leaving pointed messages to the city administration regarding their expectations. While the Shoppes at Wyndham Village may well turn out to be a lost cause, Greg has contributed to Franklin's first baby steps toward a more transparent city planning process (like this) when it comes to developments that define community space, and, by extension, define us.
Greg - who is only 21 years-old, by the way - should be further congratulated for enduring ongoing juvenile attacks, taunts and name-calling emanating from his "opposite number" at Franklinnow.com, blogger Kevin Fischer, whose "opinions" are mandated by his employment as a Republican aide as well as his fervent desire to maintain side-gigs as a fill-in right wing talk show host. (Here's one of my new favorite Fischer-isms: "If I see a coyote attacking a child or a pet, and I’m a licensed gun owner, I’m blasting away. I am NOT going to clap my hands, yell "SHOO SHOO," run to the phone, or hope and pray the damn thing runs away." Next day's newspaper headline: Tragedy as man accidentally kills child: "But that gun is licensed!" he sobs to police.)
If you haven't already, go sign Greg's petition and leave a comment. Express your desire for something better for the community, not just for the developer's bottom line.
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