By BENNETT HALL
Gazette-Times business editor | Posted: Saturday, December 16, 2006 12:00 am
City Council to hear argument in mid-January
A Portland development group has appealed the Corvallis Historic Resources Commission's rejection of its plan to remodel the Whiteside Theatre for retail and restaurant use.
The City Council is scheduled to hear the appeal Jan. 16.
In a letter delivered Friday to the city recorder, Whiteside Partners LLC argues that the Historic Resources Commission erred in denying its application to make alterations to the downtown landmark, which is listed on the city's register of historic places.
The letter lists three reasons for overturning the commission's Dec. 4 decision. Whiteside Partners claims the commission:
• Relied in part on federal historic preservation standards, rather than applicable portions of city code.
• Treated both the south and west walls as "primary facades" of the building when only the south wall qualifies for the designation.
• Took into account proposed interior alterations to the building even though its authority is limited to exterior changes.
Regal Entertainment Group closed the Whiteside nearly five years ago, citing declining revenue and serious maintenance problems. Whiteside Partners has a contract to buy the building and plans to convert the ground floor to shops and put in a restaurant and bar upstairs.
In its deliberations Dec. 4, the Historic Resources Commission focused on two aspects of the proposed alterations.
One involved replacing the massive 1950s neon marquee on the south facade with a smaller one closer to the 1920s original. The other called for major modifications to the blank west wall, including storefronts at street level and a bank of windows above.
City manager Jon Nelson said the City Council would use the same criteria as the Historic Resources Commission in evaluating Whiteside Partners' appeal - Chapter 2.9 of the Corvallis land development code. However, he added, new testimony will be taken.
"It's a totally new hearing," Nelson said.
The hearing will begin at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16 in the upstairs meeting room of the downtown fire station, 400 N.W. Harrison Blvd.
Bennett Hall is the business editor for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.