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Planning Commission recommends 20‑year renewal for Solstice Senior Living special‑use permit
Summary
The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of a 20‑year special‑use permit renewal for Solstice Senior Living at 1088 Northeast Independence Avenue.
The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of a special‑use permit renewal allowing the existing Solstice senior living community at 1088 Northeast Independence Avenue to continue operating under a renewed SUP for 20 years from the prior expiration date.
City planning staff presented the application and the site history. Hector Soto Jr., senior planner, said the Solstice campus sits on just under 5 acres with roughly 111,000 square feet of gross floor area; the main building contains about 118 dwelling units in a three‑story configuration and two single‑story cottage buildings at the street corner. Staff said the property had complied with the Unified Development Ordinance open‑space and buffering standards since its original approval in 2002 and recommended approval of the renewal subject to the standard conditions identified in the staff report.
Caleb Phillips of the law firm Spencer Fane, representing NorthStar Healthcare Income, Inc. (doing business as Solstice Senior Living), told the commission the community has operated “without incident for 20 years” and asked the commission to recommend the renewal. Tasha Allen, with operational responsibility for the facility, attended to answer operational questions.
Commissioners asked about the timing and why the permit had lapsed; staff said the expiration was discovered during routine record checks and that tracking systems for SUP expirations have been adjusted. Commissioners also sought clarification about the use category for senior‑living facilities; staff explained the UDO treats retirement/ senior living as an umbrella category encompassing independent living, assisted services by contract, memory care and similar uses and that this site functions as independent living with residents able to procure additional services privately.
On a roll‑call vote, the commission recorded unanimous support and recommended the 20‑year renewal to City Council.
The matter will next be transmitted to City Council for final action.
