Developer withdraws Douglas Street rezoning; council says timeline blocks funding application
Summary
A developer seeking to rezone Douglas Street for R-5 apartments for affordable and senior housing has paused the project after the city noted a 30-day notice requirement would push council action past the state funding deadline.
The developer seeking to rezone a Douglas Street parcel to R-5 apartment-residence has withdrawn the application after the city said public-notice timing would delay council action past the developer’s funding deadline. Mayor Fortover told the council that the planning commission approved the zoning change on July 9, and that the developer’s plan sought R-5 zoning to make an affordable senior-housing project viable. The mayor said the developer needed to apply for state senior-housing funding with an August 16 deadline. The law director advised the city must publish notice 30 days before a council hearing on rezoning; that notice period would make the earliest council vote Aug. 18, after the funding deadline. The mayor said the developer responded on July 17: “I don't think we will be in a position to advance this project any further with the approved date of this eighteenth. We may revisit this opportunity in the future if it remains competitive.” The mayor also noted that approval to rezone would not guarantee the developer could proceed: if council approved the rezone and the developer later submitted a site plan exceeding the R-5 density limit of six units per acre, the planning commission could reject the site plan. The law director noted such a decision could be challenged in court. Council members did not take further action on the rezoning during the meeting; the application remains withdrawn pending any future resubmission.
