Officials set to settle dispute on Woman's Exchange expansion

On Monday, the City Commission will weigh in on a two-year conflict between the Woman’s Exchange and residents of nearby Laurel Park, the city’s final stage for an ongoing saga pitting developer against neighborhood.

As both sides prepare to sway the commission, here’s a breakdown of the proposed expansion — and the arguments for and against the project.

The Project

The Woman’s Exchange plans to construct a 3,524-square-foot building at 526 Rawls Ave., a site next to its Orange Avenue location.

The nonprofit consignment shop purchased the property in 2012, knocking down a four-unit apartment building to clear space. The new building would be used to house furniture, a change that would improve the store’s internal circulation, according to Woman’s Exchange Executive Director Karen Koblenz.

For residents, concern is targeted at a loading area on Rawls that would be used for picking up and dropping off larger items. Under the current approval from the city, the loading zone couldn’t be used for more than 12 pickups or drop-offs per day. Trucks larger than 18 feet would be restricted from using the loading zone.

The Case For

The Woman’s Exchange has already gained two significant victories. First, city staff has said the proposal meets the standards outlined in the zoning code, issuing a building permit for the project in November.

The Laurel Park Neighborhood Association is appealing the decision to issue that permit. The dispute went before the city’s Planning Board in January — which resulted in a 4-0 vote in support of the city’s decision.

Koblenz attests to the Woman’s Exchange’s willingness to explore alternate options. Following at least four years of planning — and input from multiple consultants — the organization concluded the Rawls Avenue loading area is the only acceptable configuration.

City regulations restrict businesses from placing loading zones on “primary streets,” designated for heavier pedestrian use. Two of the three streets the Woman’s Exchange has access to — Orange Avenue and Oak Street — are primary. The third is Rawls Avenue.

“We’re doing everything that’s consistent with the land use plan, the zoning code, everything,” said planning consultant Joel Freedman, one of several outside advisers used by the Woman’s Exchange. “We’re not asking for anything special.”

Although residents have made the case that Rawls is a primarily residential street, Woman’s Exchange representative Brenda Patten pointed out it is on the border of the downtown core, which permits commercial use.

“We’re not asking for anything special.” — Joel Freedman

Affected parties other than the Laurel Park neighborhood have offered support for the expansion. Representatives from Burns Court and the neighboring Kanaya condominium have endorsed the proposal.

“When this started happening, they came to us,” Freedman said. “It’s obvious to them — they’re saying, ‘We don’t want to lose that attraction.’”

The Case Against

Kate Lowman, the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association representative who has led the fight against the expansion, acknowledges the residents’ argument is rooted in a less precisely defined portion of the city code.

That’s not to say she sees the appeal before the City Commission as a Hail Mary.

“It cost us $1,600 just to file the appeal,” Lowman said. “Unless we believed there was a real opportunity to change the situation, we wouldn’t do it.”

Lowman always believed  the appeal would be better received at the highest level of city decision makers. The LPNA’s argument hinges on the idea that the loading zone doesn’t meet an adequate standard of compatibility with the adjacent residential area.

“The challenge is, that language is harder for city staff to interpret,” Lowman said. “It’s not so much about numbers, and it requires judgment, but the language supporting compatibility is in the code.”

In the immediate area, residents who park and walk on Rawls Avenue believe the delivery traffic will negatively impact them. During the Planning Board meeting, Patten advanced the argument that pedestrian traffic isn’t an appropriate use for the street in the first place. That point was rooted in a classification from the city’s engineering manual, but Lowman said there’s no avoiding pedestrians using Rawls given the residential buildings in the area.

“The people who live on Rawls, on Cherry, on Ohio — unless they sprout wings and fly, they are going to be walking on those streets,” Lowman said. 

From the broader theme of compatibility, other concerns arise. The growth of the business could lead to increased traffic in the neighborhood. Noise could increase, too. Residents have argued trucks are too big for the narrow one-way street, disputing a test endorsed by city engineering staff. And they worry the neighborhood would be responsible for policing future problems.

“Unless we believed there was a real opportunity to change the situation, we wouldn’t do it.” — Kate Lowman

If the Woman’s Exchange were to abandon its plans, its Orange Avenue property is zoned for a 10-story building — a source of chagrin among Laurel Park residents. Still, presented with the specter of a much larger project, people living along Rawls in the Spanish Oaks and Balcony apartments are committed to this fight.

“I don’t know what the solution is, but I do know that the solution they’ve come up with is one we just don’t see how we can live with,” Lowman said.