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Planning commission recommends Sycamore 2 memory-care planned unit development to city council
Summary
The River Falls Planning Commission on April 2 voted to forward a general development plan (GDP) for the Sycamore 2 planned unit development — a proposed 24-unit memory care building and eight independent-living units — to the City Council with staff conditions and contingencies.
The River Falls Planning Commission voted April 2 to forward a general development plan (GDP) for the Sycamore 2 planned unit development to the City Council.
Harley Melhorn, senior planner, told the commission the application requests GDP approval for a new 24-unit senior living memory-care facility and 8 units of independent-living villas on a site south of Broadway bounded by Sycamore, Orange and Foster. "The GDP is the first step in the PUD process and establishes the basic right of use and conceptual site design and architecture for a project," Melhorn said.
Staff materials show the proposed development would include five single-story buildings: a roughly 17,000-square-foot memory-care building and four two-unit independent-living rental villas. Parking for the memory-care facility is shown along the Charlotte Street alignment, which would become a private drive if the project proceeds. Melhorn told the commission the discontinuance of Charlotte Street is not part of the commission’s action; the City Council is scheduled to initiate that discontinuance on April 22, and approvals are to be contingent on such discontinuance.
The applicant requested two deviations as part of the PUD: a minor reduction in required parking-stall depth from 20 feet to 18 feet, and reduced setbacks along Sycamore, Orange and Foster with a proposed 10-foot setback and side-by-side deviations ranging between 5 and 10 feet depending on the frontage. Melhorn said staff finds those requests reasonable in exchange for the project’s niche housing and public improvements, including a new sidewalk on the north side of Broadway and a developer contribution to a future Foster connection.
No members of the public spoke during the PUD public hearing. After staff presentation, a commissioner moved and another seconded to forward the enclosed council resolution approving the GDP with a favorable recommendation. The motion carried.
What happens next: if the City Council approves the GDP and later the project’s specific implementation plan (SIP) substantially conforms to the GDP, the PUD process would continue toward final approval. The Charlotte Street discontinuance by City Council remains a prerequisite identified in staff materials.
