Commission recommends PUD for multifamily at NW 178/Penn with materials, buffering, height limits

The Planning Commission on Feb. 27 recommended approval of PUD 2053, a proposed multifamily project at the corner of NW 178th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, after the applicant agreed to several technical evaluations intended to respond to neighborhood concerns about height, materials, screening and traffic.

Applicant David Box (representing the developer) told commissioners the project would conform to R‑4 setbacks and height step‑down rules where the site abuts single‑family homes. He noted the site sits at a fully signaled, five‑lane intersection and described the design as adhering to setback and landscape requirements.

Neighbors raised multiple concerns during public comment: Ed Leone, president of the Villas of Copper Creek HOA, presented a petition protesting the rezoning and cited worries about increased traffic at a nearby school pickup/drop‑off intersection, three‑story building heights overlooking adjacent homes, light spillage and material durability. Leone estimated the applicant’s proposed density at roughly 22 units per acre and contrasted it with a recently approved nearby PUD that allowed about 15 units per acre.

In response, the applicant offered a list of concessions during the hearing and accepted several technical evaluations (TEs) before the commission voted. Agreed provisions included: - Removal of EIFS and wood as permitted exterior building materials (TE 2). - No wood fencing; decorative wrought‑iron or aluminum fencing on arterial frontages; masonry screening where adjacent to single‑family homes. - An 8‑foot opaque masonry wall adjacent to single‑family homes and a 6‑foot masonry wall where the site abuts a school. - A continuous 20‑foot landscape buffer along the parcel boundary adjacent to residential uses and along the entire south boundary of the PUD. - Limiting Building 7 to two stories (TE 4 as modified). - A pedestrian access connection to the school, subject to school approval.

Planning staff had suggested a 20‑foot continuous landscape buffer along the south boundary where adjacent to residential uses; the applicant agreed to expand that buffer request to include the entire south boundary to cover adjacency to the school and other properties.

Commission action: After discussion and agreement on the amended TEs, a commissioner moved to recommend City Council approval of PUD 2053 as modified. The motion passed and the item was recommended for council consideration.

Ending: The PUD now advances to City Council. The conditions added at the hearing aim to reduce perceived visual, acoustic and lighting impacts on neighboring homes and to preserve pedestrian access to the school; the school’s approval is required for the proposed pedestrian link.