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Gresham City Council yesterday decided to expedite the process of revising commercial design standards. The decision came after the council heard proposals on the revisions from city staff.

The council wants a resolution in order by the end of the year, possibly eliminating some public forums on the matter. The issue will be discussed again at the May 9 design commission meeting.

The decision to update design standards for new commercial developments came about last year after public outcry about large retailers moving into Gresham and hurting local businesses.

“Retail is a pretty dynamic part of the development game,” said Mike Abbate, director of urban planning and design, during the meeting. “Retail development can either enhance community livability or detract from it. The devil is in the details.”

But some councilors don’t think that changing design standards is getting at the problem.

“It’s not the size of the building; it’s the size of the effects caused by the corporate behavior of these stores,” said councilor Richard Strathern.

Councilor Josh Fuhrer suggested implementing stricter design standards on those retailers that residents don’t want in town, like discount stores, instead of basing the standards on square footage alone. Thus, those types of retailers would have lower square footage maximums than other, more appropriate, retailers.

Associate planner Dan McAuliffe suggested implementing a tiered system that would require different standards as the size of the development gets bigger. When developments reach the 120,000-square-foot threshold, developers would have to take into account impact mitigation by creating sustainable buildings or constructing parking structures.

The proposed design standards would include such elements as accessibility, use of high-quality materials, architecture, building orientation, sustainability and landscaping.

Most of the concern from the council was not on the size or style of developments, but on how long the process of creating design standards is taking.

“We’ve been talking about big box stores for three years now, and it’s a sad statement that it has taken us this long to get here,” said councilor Shirley Craddick.