"When I see that our denial rate was 77 percent and our approval rate was 23 percent, that really is devastating in terms of percentages," said Councilmember Lili Bosse.
One listener posed a hypothetical question about what would happen if they lost their job, but then received more money in unemployment benefits than they made at their former job. Would they qualify for eviction protections?
"I don't see anything in your list of evaluation criteria that talks about how this is going to destroy the farmers market, a farmers market that many of us use every single week," said Janice Barquist, echoing the concern of others in the meeting.
In addition to providing aid to income-qualified tenants financially impacted by the pandemic, the program incentives property owners to forgive back rent.
As Gohlich notes, "[Robinsons-May] was truly a world class department store and contributed in a significant way to the city and its development at that time."
"Top real estate industry professionals now have an opportunity to capitalize on the immense global reach of Forbes in the creation of an impactful luxury marketplace, which is owned and led by brokerages," Bonnie Stone Sellers, who serves as Chair, said in a statement.
The Zaslavs' purpose in restoring Woodland is to "ensure that the property is enjoyed in its original state for generations to come," said Jason Somers, President of Crest Real Estate, who oversees the project.
"These are desperate times, we've heard pleas from people, I think we can easily add another $550,000 to it," said Mirisch, who was supported by Councilmember Lili Bosse.
At the outset of the discussion, Commission Chair Lou Milkowski described the subject as "a real meat-on-the-bone type of legislation for us to look at."
"For example, an 'unrealistically high' RHNA allocation based on market trends and lack of vacant land is not considered to be legitimate grounds for appeal," the Staff Report reads.