 |
| This architectural
rendering shows the view from Xenia Avenue looking south at the
proposed Friends Care Community Barr property senior apartments.
Village Council unanimously approved the project on Monday night,
and construction will begin either this fall or next spring. |
Council approves Barr property project
By Diane Chiddister
A controversial project that pitted the need for affordable senior housing
against a concern for downtown aesthetics moved toward reality this
week when Village Council unanimously approved the Friends Care Community’s
proposal to build senior housing on the Barr property downtown.
The vote was 5–0 on the second reading of the resolution, with
Lori Askeland, John Booth, Judith Hempfling, Kathryn Van der Heiden
and Karen Wintrow voting for the project. Now that the project has received
Council approval, the FCC has six months to submit a final plan to the
Planning Commission. If approved by the planners, zoning and building
permits can be issued, according to a written report by Village Manager
Eric Swansen.
The project, a three-story apartment building with 30 apartments, is
one component of the Friends Care Community’s desire to address
the needs of local seniors, according to FCC Board President Carl Champney
on Monday.
About 50 villagers attended the meeting, with about half of those speaking
in support of the project and half speaking against. Most who opposed
the Barr project cautioned that the building is too large and imposing
for the site; those who supported the project stressed the need for
growth and affordable housing for seniors.
After more than an hour of listening, Council members, while acknowledging
the concerns of those who opposed the project, came down squarely in
support of it.
“I think our community desperately needs more rental housing for
seniors,” Van der Heiden said, adding that, “We need to
think about economic development. To move forward, we need to be open
to change.”
Since most villagers accept the need for moderate growth, the choice
is between creating sprawl or having more infill, and she believes that
infill is best, Hempfling said.
“Density is something we have to find a way to embrace,”
she said.
Several who spoke in favor were seniors who said they would like to
live in the Barr apartments, including Andrée Bognár,
Helen Birch and Martie Jensen. Home, Inc. Executive Director Marianne
MacQueen spoke of the aging of the local population and the need for
more affordable rentals in town.
“It behooves us to become a community that’s welcoming to
older people,” she said.
Those who opposed the plan cited the building’s mass, which they
believed is out of scale to the neighborhood. Citing the Village Comprehensive
Plan’s directive that new building projects be compatible with
existing neighborhoods, David Battle stated, “If you have a comprehensive
plan that can be overturned willy-nilly, what’s the point of having
one?”
Battle brought to the meeting a three-dimensional model of the building,
which several said they had requested from FCC and not received.
“When you try to get that many units into that small a plot of
land, the mass will be incredible,” said Brad Myers.
In the end, Council came down in favor of the project, which is a PUD
development that will front on Limestone Street. The building will be
35 feet high, and will cover about 30 percent of the Barr property lot,
which is on the northeast corner of Xenia Avenue and Limestone Streets,
according to the FCC proposal. It will also include a parking lot with
30 parking spaces.
According to architect Mary Rogero in opening comments, the FCC has
attempted to address villagers’ concerns about the building’s
size by setting it further back from the street than originally planned,
and keeping a landscape buffer of trees on both Xenia Avenue and Limestone
Streets, among other features. FCC officials have stated that they could
not change the project into one with smaller buildings due to cost factors.
In a statement Monday night, FCC Executive Director Karl Zalar said
that the FCC makes a profit and can afford to develop the project. He
also stated that due to unknown variables at this time, he could not
say specifically what the cost of the apartments will be.
The project has many green features, according to Rogero, including
a green roof, permeable pavements, natural linoleum flooring, low flow
toilets, energy star appliances and low VOC paint. Rogero recently contacted
Pat Murphy of The Community Solution regarding the project, and on Monday
night, Murphy said he was encouraged by the project’s sustainable
features.
After Planning Commission considered the FCC project for several months,
the planners voted 2–2, with Bill Bebko abstaining due to ties
to the Senior Center, which had an option on the property. The planners
cited the building’s mass as their main concern, and also submitted
to Council a list of conditions should Council approve the project.
The FCC has agreed to most of the conditions already, which Council
will clarify at its next meeting June 16, according to Wintrow.
Other business on Council’s June 2 agenda will be covered in next
week’s News.
Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com