Planning staff recommends approval for rezoning at 1018 E. Union Bower to allow two fourplexes

Planning staff recommended approval of Zoning Case 2020595ZC at 1018 East Union Bower Boulevard to change zoning from R75 (single-family) to SP‑2 (generalized site plan) for R2.5 four‑family residential uses.

Gina Costanza Grant explained the site contains an existing single-family house to be retained initially on the eastern lot while the developer builds a fourplex on the eastern tract first and later builds the second fourplex on the western tract. The property lies in a compact‑neighborhood future land‑use category that allows higher-density single‑family and small multiunit development, staff said. Staff recorded no written support forms and one written opposition form.

Staff described the proposed site layout with front facades facing the street, parking behind the buildings, a circular front drive and a shared fire-lane access easement. The plan calls for two fourplex structures (eight units total) once both tracts are developed; if replatted later, the site may be divided and development adjusted according to final engineering and fire access requirements.

Commissioners questioned orientation, lot widths, and neighborhood context; staff noted the project required only modest variances (a fractional lot-frontage shortfall of less than a foot on a divided lot). Staff said parking requirements for a fourplex are typically two spaces per unit, treated in the code more like single-family parking standards rather than multifamily bedroom-based ratios.

Staff recommended the commission advance the rezoning with conditions and the item will appear for formal hearing where detailed engineering and fire access requirements will be reviewed.