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Lutheran Senior Services presents redesigned Mason Point plan; zoning amendment and final site plan moved to Aug. 26
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Summary
Lutheran Senior Services and its engineer presented a substantially revised plan for Mason Point, reducing skilled‑nursing capacity and increasing independent and assisted living while promising landscaping, lower roof height and financial commitments; the board did not vote and the zoning amendment/final site plan were continued to Aug. 26 for action.
Lutheran Senior Services (LSS) and Stock & Associates presented a revised master plan for Mason Point on Aug. 12 as part of a public hearing on amendments to PD‑1 zoning and an amended final site development plan. Ron Schafer, chief operating officer for LSS, said the redesign responds to neighbor concerns while shifting the campus away from a traditional, high‑density nursing model.
"We have to reshape the different type of living and care on that community campus," Schafer said, describing a phased reduction in skilled‑nursing beds from the original 230 toward a target of 35 and an increase in independent living apartments from 156 to 231 and assisted‑living rooms to 112. He said LSS will pay project fees and property tax as Town and Country chooses to levy against nonprofits and that the organization has committed to documented covenants restricting future changes.
George Stock, the project's civil engineer, described technical edits to the footprint, retaining walls and landscape plan that LSS says preserve most mature trees and add 208 new plantings for a net gain of 111 trees. Stock told the board the revised plan preserves roughly 62.68% green space, adds subsurface parking (242 spaces) and reduces the building roof pitch to lower the maximum height to about 53.17 feet.
Board members asked detailed questions about garage access, traffic/lighting impacts and community outreach. Alderman Murphy pressed for clarity about staffing impacts; Schafer said the presentation’s reference to "500 fewer staff shifts" refers to shifts rather than individuals and equates to roughly 100 fewer full‑time employees over time.
The LSS team emphasized design concessions made after neighbor outreach: shifting building and road alignments to avoid removing landmark trees (projecters now cite only a single non‑landmark tree removal), increasing evergreen screening, raising retaining walls and committing to automatic shades and light shielding to prevent light spillover at property lines.
No final vote was taken on the ordinance amending Section 405.18 (PD‑1 Mason Point) or the amended final site development plan. LSS asked the Board of Aldermen to "favorably consider" the ordinance amendment and to move to approve the final site development plan at the board’s Aug. 26 meeting; the board continued the matter to that date for further consideration.
What happens next: The public hearing and presentation conclude the evidentiary portion; the board will consider the ordinance amendment and the final site development plan at its Aug. 26 meeting when it may vote to adopt or deny the requested changes.
