Pruitt Health representatives asked the council on Oct. 16 to recommend approval of variances and waivers needed to expand a surface parking lot and add space to a rehabilitation facility at 3535 Ashton Woods Drive.

Baxter Russell, land-use counsel for Pruitt Health, said the property has hosted a 157-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility for more than 20 years and that the current application is intended to complete a parking configuration and building expansion that had been approved in 2018 but not constructed. Russell said the 2018 approval included variances and conditions; during the permitting process staff discovered that a buffer variance was never obtained and must be secured before construction. He said the project seeks to address parking constraints and stormwater problems created by the site's steep topography.

City staff listed two variances (including a reduction of required open space from 10% to 0% and a reduction of a 40-foot zoning buffer to 10 feet) and two waivers related to landscape-zone planting requirements. Staff recommended denial of both variances and both waivers, though it offered a list of conditions should the council be inclined to approve the requests.

Several nearby residents opposed the buffer variance at the public hearing. Linda Martin, of Keswick Village, said the forest adjacent to the site is a “precious resource” already stressed by surrounding development and that proposed excavation, retaining walls and construction equipment would harm the downhill ecosystem. Another resident echoed concerns about construction impacts on the adjacent forest and said the retaining-wall construction would further damage plant life.

Pruitt's representative said the proposal includes pervious pavers for the new parking area that will reduce sheet flow from the site and that the requested encroachment is on privately owned property rather than park land. He also said the parking area location matches the previously approved plan from 2018 and that the buffer variance is necessary to complete the previously authorized configuration.

Staff and several council members noted the project's history and the technical complexity created by the site's topography and adjacency to Keswick Park/forest. The item was presented at the public hearing and will return for council consideration on the formal agenda.