Environmental Commission recommends variances for Flats 130 site plan near Decker Lake

Environmental Commission members on April 16 recommended that city staff grant multiple variances for the Flats 130 site plan (SP-2024-0298D), a proposed 396-unit, 10-building multifamily development on Zeckelman Boulevard just downhill of Decker Lake in the Decker Creek watershed.

The recommendation, made during a public hearing at the Permitting and Development Center and read into the record by staff, asked that variances for increased cut (up to 11 feet), increased fill (up to 16 feet), and limited building and parking on steep slopes be granted with environmental conditions attached. City staff and the applicant described the site as in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) with critical water-quality zones and wetlands on the property, and as constrained by floodplain and an inundation zone related to the Decker Lake dam.

Staff and applicant: what was requested and why

David Michael, environmental review specialist with the Development Services Department, summarized the three variance requests and the staff recommendation. He said the application sought a variance from Land Development Code section 25.80.341 to allow cut up to 11 feet, from section 25.80.342 to allow fill up to 16 feet, and from section 25.83.02 to allow up to 600 square feet of building on slopes over 25% and up to 3,000 square feet of parking on slopes over 15%.

Michael told the commission that staff had worked with the applicant to reduce the amount of cut and fill from the original submission and that "the project provides greater environmental protection with increased landscaping" and "the variance will result in water quality that is at least equal to the water quality achievable without the…