Commission conditions multifamily infill at 420 North Albright amid stormwater, utilities and access concerns

The Downtown City Planning Commission recommended conditional approval on May 13 for a proposed 2½-story, five-unit multifamily building at 420 North Albright Ave Rear, provided the applicant addresses staff and engineering comments on façade design, lighting, landscaping, stormwater and utilities.

City planning staff said the RM (medium-density residential) zoning and the student-resident overlay (SRO) permit the proposed five dwelling units if zoning requirements are met. Staff asked for improvements including a more traditional facade material on the front facade facing North Roar (North Roor) Street, the addition of windows and a first-floor entrance where a blank wall is proposed, enclosed entrance stairs consistent with the ordinance, a landscape and lighting plan, and updated elevations and floor plans showing the integrated stair.

Engineer John Kipsource, representing the applicant, told the commission the team will provide lighting photometrics and landscaping details, is willing to add windows to the blank wall and prefers to keep the currently proposed facade materials where possible. He described a permeable “grass paver” drive area rated for H-20 vehicle loads that will support fire apparatus turning movements and could also provide local stormwater detention. He said the project must extend a water main and sewer main along North Roar Street (approximately 150 feet each) and widen the alley, actions that increase project cost.

Commissioners and staff discussed emergency access; Fire Code Official John Seed (on-line) said Roar Street can be upgraded to accommodate modern fire apparatus and that he had no immediate objections if the street is brought up to code and the new building is sprinklered. Stormwater was the most significant public concern: residents and commenters submitted letters raising flood and drainage concerns and cited an earlier Livingston Storm Sewer analysis. Staff said the site is under 10,000 square feet of new impervious surface and therefore not subject to on-lot volume and rate control, but asked for gutter calculations and additional review to ensure runoff does not worsen conditions on Liberty Street or adjacent properties.

The commission’s conditional recommendation included: (1) addressing engineering comments to staff satisfaction, including drainage/gutter calculations and landscaping/lighting plans; (2) coordination about relocating utilities and widening Roar Street; (3) limiting public-right-of-way closures during construction with advance notice to affected neighbors; and (4) adding buffer landscaping along the unopened Warren Street. The applicant agreed to work with staff on these items. The commission voted to forward the matter with those conditions.