Developer presents 50-unit Blackburn Landing; commission agrees to recommend pending tree-planting revisions

The Athens Shade Tree Commission voted April 10 to recommend that the City Planning Commission advance the Blackburn Landing development, a 50-unit multifamily affordable housing project at 142 Albany Road, provided developers revise landscaping plans and pursue options to place more trees in the right-of-way or on the planned shared-use path.

Spire Development representative Sean McMickle told the commission the project will replace one single-family home and build 50 dwelling units on a constrained site now zoned R-3 for multifamily use. “The site itself is very condensed,” McMickle said, and the firm is proposing two large shade trees and 10 medium trees on site, well short of the tree count the commission’s impervious-surface calculation would require.

Commission members said the project’s shared-use path — which McMickle said would run along Highway 50 in the ODOT right of way and pass under an overpass — creates an opportunity to plant additional trees if the state permits trees in that corridor. “If we can work with the state to count those planted along the path, maybe even on the opposite side, that may be a way to get trees in the ground rather than into the bank,” a commission member said.

Why it matters: Commissioners emphasized balancing the city’s tree-cover goals with a stated local need for affordable housing and the project’s constrained topography. The developer said the project is funded by tax credits and is on a construction timeline that would be delayed if the commission deferred action for a month.

The commission discussed the program the city uses when developers cannot meet on-site tree requirements: a tree-bank fee assessed per missing tree that funds planting, maintenance and removal and is restricted to tree work. A staff member explained the fee is $225 per tree and that the Shade Tree Commission may accept payment to the tree bank as an in-lieu option if it chooses.

Commissioners asked the developer to revise the species list to favor native and pollinator-friendly plants. McMickle said Spire Development was open to substituting species and to sharing updated plans by email for commission review. The commission agreed to accept the application pending those changes and to coordinate separately with ODOT and the city on the shared-use path design.

The commission approved the recommendation by voice vote. No detailed roll-call was recorded in the transcript; minutes show commissioners present voiced “aye.”

What’s next: The Shade Tree Commission will circulate written comments to the developer, who will submit revised landscaping/species plans. The commission and the developer will also try to coordinate with the city and ODOT on whether trees planted in the right of way can be counted toward the project’s tree requirement.

Commission discussion and the formal motion occurred during the Blackburn Landing agenda item; public-comment speakers and other agenda business followed.