Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Senior Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission recommends approval of Sycamore 2 PUD SIP for 24-unit memory care and 8 independent-living units
Summary
Planning staff recommended, and the Planning Commission approved forwarding to City Council a Specific Implementation Plan (SIP) for Sycamore 2: a 17,000-square-foot memory care facility with 24 units and four two-unit independent living villas; two minor deviations were requested and described in the staff presentation.
The River Falls Planning Commission voted to forward a Specific Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Sycamore 2 planned unit development to the City Council with a favorable recommendation.
The SIP would grant final entitlements for a proposed project that includes a 24-unit, 17,000-square-foot memory care facility and four two-unit independent living villas (eight units). The commission’s recommendation follows staff’s finding that the SIP is substantially conformant with the previously approved general development plan (GDP).
Harley Melhorn, senior planner, said the GDP was approved by City Council on April 22, 2025, and that the SIP is the final step in the PUD process. Melhorn described the project footprint as bounded by Broadway to the north, Foster Street to the south, and Orange and Sycamore Streets to the east and west. He said the development would consist of four single-story buildings (a 17,000-square-foot memory care facility and four two-unit independent living rental villas) and that Charlotte Street would be discontinued and become a private internal drive as part of the project site layout.
Melhorn identified two requested deviations: a minor reduction in parking stall depth from 20 feet to 18 feet (the striped parking is functionally accommodated on the internal drive) and setback reductions on Sycamore, Orange and Foster to a 10-foot setback (a 5-to-15-foot deviation from standard). Melhorn said staff finds those requests reasonable in exchange for “much needed niche housing and care units,” and recommended the commission forward the enclosed resolution approving the SIP to City Council with a favorable recommendation.
Commissioners moved and seconded a motion to approve the SIP; the motion passed by recorded voice vote with no opposition. A commissioner asked whether the project would operate in coordination with Sycamore Place and was told it would be a noncontiguous expansion of that operation. Another commissioner asked about a crosswalk or sidewalk across Broadway; staff said no crosswalk was currently contemplated but that a networkwide streets analysis could recommend a marked crossing or other improvements if traffic patterns indicate it is needed.
Melhorn said the SIP will be acted on by the City Council on June 10 and that staff’s review found the SIP substantially conformant to the approved GDP and to standards not waived during the PUD process. The commission forwarded the resolution to City Council with a favorable recommendation.
