They've been through it all before.

At its Tuesday evening meeting, the Coos Bay City Council opted not to consider a request to decrease the size of the Empire Waterfront Settlement Design area and dissolve the Historic Design Review Committee.

The request was filed by Bay Area Athletic Club owner Mark McPeek. McPeek is planning to add a gym to the eastern side of the club. The facility likely would house an NBA-size basketball court, gymnastics area and a children's activity area. However, McPeek also has plans for it to be constructed out of metal, which may or may not fit into the requirements for the design area.

McPeek said most of the structures in the area, which include everything from laundromats to a gas station and automotive repair service, were built between 1940 and 1980. It would be inappropriate to make them conform to the standards, he said.

He added he has spoken with several other business owners in the area who also are unhappy with the requirements. As one of the largest landowners in the area, McPeek said he felt he should take the initiative to do something about it.

McPeek submitted a request asking that the boundaries for the review area be moved to include only the two oldest blocks in downtown Empire. The boundaries currently extend west from the Newmark Avenue and Ocean Boulevard intersection to Empire Boulevard.

The design standards were adopted in 2001 and were intended to recapture the Empire that existed in the mid- to late-1800s. New buildings and additions to existing buildings are guided by those design standards. At that time, numerous meetings were held to garner input from the public and business owners in the area.

The council opted not to change the standards, agreeing that the design criteria was flexible enough to allow for an appropriate looking gym.

In other business, the City Council:

€ heard a brief presentation by Brett Weidemiller, the new president of the Coos Bay Volunteer Firefighters Association. Weidemiller said the association just held a Southwestern Oregon Firefighters Association dinner and is preparing for a recruitment drive in July, as well as the annual fireworks display.

Weidemiller also noted a $25,000 donation the association made to the Coos Bay Firefighters Memorial Committee. "I'll just take this opportunity to encourage other organizations to make donations as well," he said;

€ approved 5-2 a request to close a portion of North Eighth Street. The approval followed public testimony on an appeal by residents in the area. Councilors Jeff McKeown and John Muenchrath voted against the closure, noting concerns over setting a precedent for other streets. McKeown added that if there were vehicles on it, it was being used.

Area residents had asked for a gate to close the street, citing safety concerns over speeding vehicles and limited visibility on the street. However, city staff recommended leaving the street open following a survey of residents in the area. Prior to the late 1990s, when some of the property was vacated for development, it was closed by a berm.

Several of the councilors said they supported the closure because they had driven the road and witnessed the poor driving conditions on the street. In addition, the street had a history of being closed.

Residents Lou and Kathie Leberti agreed to pay for a gate to close the street, provided that keys were given to city personnel;

€ unanimously approved a proposal to change the zone designation of .35 acres of property on Southwest Boulevard from general commercial C-2 to single-family and duplex residential R-2. The council also approved changing the corresponding plan designation from commercial to residential low-density. Planning Administrator Laura Barron said the applicants are proposing to build a residential development on the parcel of land, which was previously used as a nursery business; and

€ unanimously approved adopting a resolution to vacate an unopened county road under county jurisdiction and located within the city limits. The road covers approximately 200 acres near Johnson Avenue and 17th Street.

Barron said the vacation would eliminate the undeveloped right-of-way, which would accommodate future development and allow for the property to be aligned with the natural gas pipeline easement.