The city council voted 4 to 3 to approve the rezoning and variances for the proposed apartments on University Ave. in Old Town. However, since more than 20 percent of the property owners within 200 feet of the proposed apartments objected in writing, a supermajority was required for approval. Since a supermajority of votes was not achieved, the motion to approve failed.
The council was asked to rezone the property from commercial to planned unit development because building height, setbacks and density exceeded limits in the city code.
The developer cannot bring the same project back to the council for a year according to the city planning director. The developer also indicated that he had a commercial project in mind that would meet the existing requirements and that he was going to proceed with the planning and analysis of that project.
One councilman expressed concern that the process was controlled by just two council persons. Since those council persons represent the districts affected, it seems right that those most affected have the greatest impact on land use in their area.
Another issue to be concerned about is the rezoning and granting of waivers by the city council. If the zoning and building codes are not appropriate for a given piece of property, then the zoning and codes should be changed for all the property in a given area. There should be extremely few accommodations granted by the city council and the variations from the building codes should be very small, like <1 foot on building heights and setbacks, and <2% on density.
It seems like the process worked as it was supposed to; those most impacted by the changes from the established zoning and codes had the largest voice in the matter.
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