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Residents urge council to block large Phillips Place project; council refers petition to planning board
Summary
Neighbors criticized a petition to amend zoning to allow a developer to replace a residential lot on Phillips Place with a 70-bedroom, 55-foot, roughly 200-foot-long apartment building; council followed statutory requirements and referred the citizen petition to the planning board and legislative matters committee for review.
Neighbors and nearby residents told the City Council a petition to change the zoning on Phillips Place would permit an oversized building out of scale with the neighborhood and urged council action to protect residential character.
Colin Hoffmeister, a 32-year property owner, described the proposed apartment as a '70 bedroom, 55 foot tall, some 200 foot long apartment building' and said the neighborhood is willing to entertain housing but not at that scale. Nina Shield (Ward 3) told the council she planned to raise concerns at the planning board hearing about a 'poorly developed building' and warned that a special permit approval could violate the board's own requirements.
Why it matters: the petition (agenda item 25.251 / item 13) seeks to amend Chapter 350.4 (interpretation of upzoning) to reclassify a residential lot to commercial to accommodate the proposed apartment. Residents said the process felt "slow walked" after an earlier submission and stressed they had been advised incorrectly when first presenting the ordinance.
What happened at the meeting: the council voted to refer the citizen petition to the Planning Board and to the Legislative Matters Committee, noting the statutory obligation to submit zoning changes to the planning board within 14 days and to hold the required public hearings. The council president and planning staff discussed scheduling; the planning board must advertise and hold hearings per state law before any council adoption or rejection.
No final zoning decision was made at the meeting. Councilors acknowledged timing constraints—the Planning Board meets on a set schedule and advertising rules require notice at least 14 days before a hearing—and directed staff to coordinate with the planning director about hearing dates.
Ending: Residents said they will continue to pursue neighborhood input at the Planning Board hearing; the council's referral starts the formal review required by state law and city rules.
