Petrosa residents urge council to honor original master plan as developers propose affordable projects on commercial parcel

Two residents from the Petrosa neighborhood used the visitor section of the Oct. 1 meeting to ask council to uphold the neighborhood’s adopted master plan after hearing that two different affordable housing applicants had filed proposals for a 20‑acre commercial parcel at the entrance to Petrosa.

Leslie Larson, a Petrosa homeowner, said the original master plan called for a grocery‑anchored retail center, a pedestrian shopping street, mixed‑use buildings and public outdoor spaces intended to serve residents and Pine Nursery Park visitors. Larson asked council to “be fully aware and uphold the Petrosa master plan development” and to ensure development remains walkable and consistent with the neighborhood vision.

George Schott, who said he represents a large group of homeowners in Petrosa, told council that Polish Homes (a local developer referenced in the public comment) had previously sold the parcel to a local buyer and that city staff had told neighbors the marketplace would move forward as planned. Schott said one current applicant, Bella Pines, describes its application as urgent and that the applicant had not consulted the Petrosa community; he asked council for support to ensure the commitments residents relied on when buying homes are respected.

Council acknowledged the comments and the mayor suggested a neighborhood roundtable to discuss the issues; a number of councilors said they would consider a Southeast neighborhood roundtable to engage residents and walk through proposed changes, infrastructure impacts and timing.

Why this matters: residents said their property purchases and expectations about neighborhood amenities were based on an adopted master plan; they told council they want city staff and elected officials to ensure that commercially designated land is not converted to uses that conflict with that plan without community involvement.