Theatre Design & Technology - May 1970 - 8

DISSENTING VIEW . ..

also increase the commercial value of the
entire district.

4. Mr. Arthur Palmer, Administratorof Transportation, stated in his 1968-69 Capital
Budget Request that "the City's present
street system
is completely overburdened, . . .[the] challenges to maintain circulation on the City's streets must be met
via meaningful policy on street congestion
control and priority evaluation. These problems can only be met through a coordinated
strategy of attack. . .[and we must] prevent
the critical deterioration of our existing facilities by proper renewal programs."
Such a renewal program is this designation
of the theatre district. Therefore I recommend
that the City itself come up with a meaningful traffic and transportation plan so that
special theatre requests can be dealt with
in the context of a City policy. Only in this
way will the City be knowledgeable about
what to exact from the developer in return
for the privileges granted him.
Act II Parking
For many years there has been a division of
opinion among the various city agencies concerning mid-town parking. A definitive administration policy on parking must be formulated. It should be noted that the expan-

sion of office buildings into the theatre district will not only displace theatres but also
parking as well as create a greater demand
for spaces. The theatre-goers depend greatly
on garages for parking and the City must
come up with a firm solution to the handling of cars. It must determine whether it
should encourage construction of new garages within the area to replace the demolished ones or whether to locate more public
garages on the periphery of the area.
The newspapers have been reporting the
tangled mess that exists before and after
theatre hours and we all have a personal
acquaintance with this mess. A resolution
can and must be made and should be made
or at least thoroughly explored prior to approval of this Zoning Amendment.

comprehensive relocation policy and the extent to which the City's ability to handle
relocation constrains, inhibits, and guides
renewal programs.

Act III Relocation

I believe that the granting of a maximum
44% bonus for a theatre is excessive and
that its derivation is not based on any realistic economic study. I believe it is not justified and that the very same desired results could be accomplished with a lesser
bonus, particularly in light of the fact that
unlike open space, the theatre will bring in
a financial return. This gain is not required
to be passed on to the theatre industry and
will remain with the builder. In fact, the

It is true that assemblage is currently going
on in this area for development of office
buildings but this amendment will increase
and quicken this activity. It is not enough
for the Commission to be cognizant of the
problem of demolition and relocation but it
must realize that this problem is rightfully
the Commission's concern. If the Commission is charged with comprehensive planning
then it must recognize the importance of a

It must be recognized that the creation of
this district is a threat to the community
residents though it may be of benefit to
the City as a whole. This threat could be
minimized by assuring these publiclyassisted middle income units could be given
to them; certainly a positive, predetermined
policy of relocation assistance would ameliorate the fear of these people. This is
clearly the responsibility of the City and
should be thoroughly explored and discussed
prior to the approval of this amendment.
Act IV Need for a 44% Bonus and Precedent

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m!!LJ THEATER DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

MAY, 1970

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - May 1970