Letters to the Editor 6-5-14

Counting stories
Editor: Are you like me? First thing I do when I get the Trib is flip to the back pages to read Ray’s column and the Letters; usually great entertainment. Recent letters from Marie Salerno (5/22) and John Vink (5/27) did not disappoint. They were railing about the quality of local leadership and referenced the seven-story (Marie) and six-story (John) meat market under construction downtown as an example of City government run amok. It makes one question their vision, math skills and common sense. I hope they were joking but Marie insisted that we stand in the parking lot and count the stories, so I guess not. I’m not sure what she was counting, but it wasn’t stories. I have heard others wonder if the building at North and Center St. is the tallest in Healdsburg. I am the architect of the project at the site of the old post office and here are the facts:  it is a two story building and the top of the parapet is 36.5 feet. I suppose it appears taller next to the adjacent buildings which are short one story structures.  Perhaps it seems ominous with the black screening on the scaffolding.  While there are three penthouse structures for elevator, stairs, and toilet room set back from the parapet to serve a rooftop deck, they are also below the downtown height limit of 50-feet. Other buildings that are right around the height limit downtown include: the Brandt Building, Hotel Healdsburg, Le Mars, Barndiva, h2, the Deas Building, my home on Center St. (next to Spoke Folk bike shop) and the Bacchi Building across from Oakville Grocery. The latter building, which I also designed, was built in 2001 and was the subject of letters to the editor as well. “How could the City allow such a tall monstrosity right on the Plaza?” was the general theme. I suggested to community members then, as I do now, why not wait until the building is finished before deciding how you feel about it. See how the balconies, cornice, trellis, storefronts, and other detailing articulate and break down the scale. Most people seem to like the Bacchi building at this point and think it fits in quite nicely on the Plaza. I hope you will feel the same about the new building that occupies the site where our old post office stood. And wait till you taste the salumi!
Alan Cohen
Healdsburg
Accessible
Editor: As the Healdsburg City Council debates how to spend the sales tax windfall, I’d like to make a suggestion as to how to spend the funds allocated to infrastructure. While the sidewalk upgrades downtown are lovely — they provide both aesthetic pleasure to residents and, perhaps, keep us competitive to the tourists that provide much needed funds for city services — we need to spend money to make our residential areas friendly to handicapped pedestrians and children.
First of all, many of our city blocks’ corners do not have ramps to accommodate wheelchairs and strollers. Surprisingly, even the crosswalk on Center, just south of Piper is, despite being located between two sloped exits/entries for vehicle, just a curb that thwarts those in wheelchairs and wakes sleeping babies whose parents want to safely cross the street. Finally, the exit/entry to Giorgi Park, on University, has no stop sign, yield sign or yield light, speed bump, flashing crosswalk or other method to compel often-speeding drivers to look out for the safety of the young pedestrians who are coming and going. Remedying these situations would be a good way for the Council to show how all of that tourist revenue benefits us.
Gabriel Froymovich
Healdsburg