Key Construction seeks CUP for two attached townhomes at 10 East Southwark Street; commissioners question front-yard parking

Key Construction presented CUP25145 at the April 1 planning commission work session, seeking permission to subdivide a vacant parcel at 10 East Southwark Street into two lots and construct two attached townhome-style dwellings in the HR-1 zone opposite Quarles Elementary School.

The draft site plan submitted by the applicant shows two three-bedroom, roughly 24-by-34-foot townhomes (each with about 2.5 bathrooms) on separate platted lots, each with the minimum-required single off-street parking pad directly in front of the building. Staff said the proposal meets HR-1 lot dimension standards and recommended standard conditions tying final approval to minor subdivision and administrative site-plan review.

Several commissioners said they supported the CUP but raised concerns about the parking pads in front of the homes. Commissioners argued that on-street parking would produce a better streetscape and reduce conflicts between cars backing from private pads and students walking to the nearby elementary school. Staff said the zoning ordinance requires one parking space per dwelling in this zoning and that removing the front pads might require a variance or ordinance amendment; staff agreed to research whether a variance route or administrative relief would be possible and return that information to the commission.

No formal vote was held at the work session. Commissioners asked staff to provide follow-up on the possibility of using on-street parking or securing a variance to change the design before the item returns for decision.