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Spire Development presents 50‑unit Blackburn Landing affordable project; city flags access, utilities and safety questions
Summary
Spire Development presented Blackburn Landing, a proposed 50‑unit affordable garden‑style development on an R‑3 parcel; staff asked for traffic, water, sewer, fire access and pedestrian‑path studies before a formal hearing.
Spire Development presented Blackburn Landing, a proposed 50‑unit garden‑style affordable housing development on a parcel zoned R‑3, and staff raised questions about pedestrian access, traffic, utilities and fire safety that the developer is addressing ahead of a formal April 2 case.
"Blackburn Landing is a 50 unit multifamily housing development ... a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units," said Sean McMickle of Spire Development. McMickle gave counts for unit mix: 12 one‑bedroom units, 32 two‑bedrooms and 6 three‑bedrooms, and said the parcel is roughly 2.32 acres and currently zoned R‑3.
City staff told the commission they held a pre‑application meeting and asked Spire to study a shared‑use path that would connect the development to Richland Avenue, likely using ODOT right‑of‑way outside the driving lanes, and staff said the city would design the infrastructure if the developer participates in the design. Staff also noted ODOT is running a traffic analysis of the Blackburn Road intersection and requested the developer submit trip‑generation data so ODOT can review added traffic.
Other technical items staff requested included: a water pressure and flow analysis because the fire chief expects the building to be sprinkled and staff wants to ensure adequate capacity for both external hydrants and internal systems; a sewer capacity check for the lift station that would receive sanitary flows; confirmation that fire trucks can make required turning radii and that apparatus can access three sides of proposed buildings; and compliance with shade tree requirements (staff noted the developer appears to meet a 66‑tree planting requirement).
Spire told the commission it has run turning‑radius checks and engaged third parties to perform a flow test and sewer analysis. Regarding soils on the sloped site, McMickle said a geotechnical report shows plastic clays in places but "there is nothing in the geotechn report that suggests we would not be able to build this project as proposed" and that mitigation measures are budgeted.
Transit access was discussed: McMickle said Athens Public Transit line 3 serves Andover and connects to uptown and Market on State, and city staff said a bus stop lies about 200 feet from the property line on a private access drive. Commissioners asked whether neighbors had been contacted; Spire said they had not yet done so and staff said the developer would post public notice signage in advance of the next meeting.
The communication drew no vote. Staff said the project will be on the April 2 planning commission agenda as a formal case; project approvals will depend on engineering outcomes, utility capacity and any required mitigation.
Why it matters: The proposal adds 50 affordable units in an R‑3 parcel but raises infrastructure and safety questions (traffic, water flow, lift‑station capacity, fire access) the city and developer must resolve before permitting.
Next steps: Developer to complete water/sewer/traffic/geotech studies, coordinate on shared‑use path design, post public notice signage, and return as a formal case April 2.
