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Portage Planning Commission approves Rivers Crossing multifamily PUD, 52-unit project moves to council
Summary
The Portage City Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve a general development plan for the Rivers Crossing Multifamily Planned Unit Development, a 52-unit project that includes income-restricted units, a 25% set-aside for adults with disabilities and a veterans reserve. The project will proceed to City Council for final action.
The Portage City Planning Commission on Thursday approved the general development plan for Rivers Crossing Multifamily PUD, a 52-unit apartment project at 2941 Hunters Trail and 1350 Gunderson Drive that includes income-restricted units and a set-aside for residents with disabilities.
The commission voted unanimously to approve the plan after a presentation from Impact 7 and Harmony Housing Partners and a staff briefing on code compliance and tax-credit financing. City staff said the project will next go to the Portage City Council for final action at the earliest available meeting, with the city staff identifying either Feb. 27 or March 13 as possible council dates to meet a March 20 deadline.
The plan calls for the lots at parcels 6021.2 and 6021.21350 to be merged and rezoned to allow the multifamily development. Carol Keane, vice president of real estate at Impact 7, told commissioners the site plan shows surface parking covering about 20% of the site, building coverage of roughly 22% and 51% of the site maintained as green space. Keane said the submitted landscaping plan exceeded Portage’s code requirement, scoring 5,797 points compared with the code minimum of 5,082.
Ina Carson, president of Harmony Housing Partners, described her nonprofit’s role: providing on-site volunteer programming, serving as a liaison between residents and management and working with law enforcement and emergency personnel to familiarize residents with community processes. "We are a nonprofit that's dedicated to living communities for disabled adults to live in inclusive and affordable communities," Carson said.
Carson and Impact 7 said the development is income-restricted across tiers tied to area median income (AMI), and that 25% of units will be devoted to adults with disabilities. Carson also said the project will include a reserve for veterans and that the developer expects to accept Section 8 vouchers.
On financing, Impact 7 said it is pursuing Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). Keane said the developer anticipates a project cost around $14,000,000 and expects approximately $10,000,000 in equity from LIHTC syndication, with the remainder carried as a long-term mortgage. Keane described the LIHTC process as an Internal Revenue Service program in which investors purchase credits to offset income tax liability; she said LIHTC projects typically carry a 15-year compliance period for the credit and a longer land-use restriction (described in the presentation as about 30 years).
City staff reported they had evaluated whether the city could require the development entity to remain a for-profit, property-tax-paying entity. Staff said they consulted City Attorney Jesse Spankowski and concluded the city cannot currently guarantee the developer will remain a for-profit entity. Staff explained that possible tools such as deed restrictions were not used, and that the city cannot require a developer agreement because no Tax Increment District (TID) or other financial assistance is being provided.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about rents, household-size rent grids and the evacuation plan. Keane said detailed rent amounts vary with AMI and household size and are not fixed at this stage; staff noted an evacuation plan from a prior Impact 7 project (Beaver Dam) that was 28–30 pages and said the project team had provided an evacuation plan for review.
After discussion, a commissioner moved and another seconded approval of the general development plan. A roll-call vote recorded Commissioners Egan, Gunderson, Petalinsack and Schneider voting "aye." The motion carried. The project will be scheduled for a future City Council public hearing and final decision.
Less critical details discussed during the meeting included site landscaping specifics, the planned mix of unit sizes and staff confirmation that the submitted plans conform with the city’s landscaping point requirements.
Votes at a glance: - Motion to approve general development plan for Rivers Crossing Multifamily PUD (parcels 6021.2 at 2941 Hunters Trail and 6021.21350 Gunderson Drive): approved, 4–0. (Commissioners Egan, Gunderson, Petalinsack and Schneider voted aye. Mover/second not specified in the transcript.)
