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reinstated. "It would cut the first 4-percent increase by about 0.7 percent," said a utilities finance staffer. One problem is conservation. As users save water (low-flow toilets and showers, for example), water consumption goes down. Because bills are based on usage, less con- sumption means less revenue for the city. Chapman proposed reinstating the impact fees, but the effort failed 2-3 (with Shaw and Chapman outvoted). However, during the budget workshop three days later, the com- missioners agreed to ask staff to examine the impact of reinstating the fees before the rate hike comes back for its second reading and likely passage. It was a day of legacies. How to refresh the Lido Pool? Should the Cultural District Master Plan be reconsidered? Should the commis- sion add the sixth and seventh water rate increases in a decade? Then a six-year-old development plan came up for final approval. In 2008, a stretch of Second Street was approved for a 10-story rental building cap- italizing on a quadrupled density boost, and the density provision remains active. The idea was to create affordable housing downtown. The land and the plan were later purchased by software entrepreneur Jessie Biter, who then bought an adjacent parcel and wanted to add it to the approved development proposal. Both the city Planning Board and the city staff members on the Development Review Committee struggled with Biter's refusal to provide detailed drawings showing a uni- fied structure, but they eventually gave their approval. That pattern was repeated at the City Commission meeting. "We have been given only a partial plan," said Chapman. "The developer says it's too expensive to provide a full set of plans. This sets a very bad prec- edent." The project was approved 3-2, with Shaw and Chapman in the minority. By another 3-2 vote, the commission decided to ask its Independent Police Advisory Panel to review the Police Department's voluntary withdrawal from accreditation. Commissioners Snyder and Caragiulo voted against the motion. In their only unanimous vote of the day (excepting approval of minutes and the con- sent agendas), the commissioners decided to scrap plans to work with Sarasota County to create a come-as-you-are shelter for the homeless and vagrants. (See the related story in this issue.) % Don't have your own subscription to The Sarasota News Leader? Subscribe for FREE and receive a weekly notification when the latest issue is available online. FREE SUBSCRIPTION Sarasota News Leader July 25, 2014 Page 23