Council approves 22-unit West Side Flats after heated neighbor testimony; conditions include screening, landscaping and council review

The City Council voted April 16 to approve a four-story, 22-unit multifamily development on the northwest corner of Van Buren Avenue and F Street, a site in the historic West Side that has sat vacant for decades.

The nut graf: The project — proposed by Oikos Development and sited on about 0.33 acres — will provide 22 affordable units (five 1-bedroom, 12 two-bedroom and five three-bedroom units). Council approval came with conditions addressing neighbor privacy, buffering and required follow-up reviews; opponents said the scale and proximity would harm sunlight, privacy and property values.

Attorney Bob Groenauer and developer Chico Clark told the council the project is an infill development intended to add affordable housing stock and catalytic investment to the neighborhood, estimating a private investment of about $10.5 million. Clark said the units will be reserved for households at 30 to 50 percent of area median income, with monthly rents “somewhere around $450 to a maximum of $1,100” and an affordability term the developer described as a 50-year commitment.

Neighbor Cordelia Wallace, who lives adjacent to the site, said the proposed building would “decimate” sunlight to her yard and harm her way of life; she told the council she grows fruits and vegetables and would lose the sunlight that sustains them.

Councilwoman Summers Armstrong, who moved approval after negotiated changes, said she would hold the project to a high standard. “This is the first vote for a multifamily that I will cast, and this is critical,” she said, adding that the developer must maintain the property and meet the conditions. Several council members emphasized management and ongoing maintenance as keys to neighborhood compatibility.

City staff and the applicant outlined the conditions attached to approval: increased landscape buffering along the west property line (24-inch-box oleanders), revised western building elevation with upward-facing louvers to reduce direct sightlines into the adjacent yard, relocation of trash enclosures away from the western neighbor, and a requirement that any substantial change to building placement, height or unit count return as a major site-development amendment at public hearing. The council also approved a process to raise or replace the existing western perimeter wall to six feet if the adjacent owner agrees; the developer offered to pay the cost.

The planning commission and city staff recommended approval; the council’s vote confirmed that recommendation. The city will require the applicant to submit the required construction permits and to complete building inspections in compliance with Title 19 and Building & Safety requirements.

Ending: Project opponents said they fear long-term impacts on sunlight, privacy and house values; supporters, including neighborhood advocates and the Jackson Street Alliance, said infill affordable units are needed to retain community residents and spur further investment. The council’s action included specific conditions meant to address those neighborhood concerns.