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Council approves small rezoning in Northern Plains addition; conditional‑use decision on townhomes tabled after resident concerns
Summary
Council approved rezoning a 151‑foot sliver in the Northern Plains addition from B2A to R2 while tabling a separate conditional‑use permit for townhouses after residents raised repeated flood‑risk, privacy and screening concerns; developer and engineer said unit count will not increase and that additional berms/swales and a pond exist or are planned.
The City of Brookings on Aug. 13 approved an ordinance to rezone the east 151 feet of Block 1 in the Northern Plains addition from B2A (office/commercial) to R2 (two‑family residential) but postponed a related conditional‑use decision on townhomes amid strong neighborhood opposition.
Community Development Director Mike Struck said the rezoning request concerns a small outlined area (about 10,000 square feet) originally intended for overflow parking; developers later said the parking was not needed and asked to downzone the sliver to allow townhome layout adjustments but not to increase the previously approved unit count. "We're still looking at doing 20 units," developer Kyle Roush said, noting the change is intended to reduce cost for an affordable‑housing component and to improve spacing.
Dozens of neighbors and local contractors spoke during the public hearing, citing basement flooding, stormwater that flowed over curbs during a recent heavy rain, loss of green space that previously slowed runoff, proximity of new walls to property lines, pedestrian/traffic safety on Main Avenue and the ability to visually screen residences from the adjacent parking lot. Resident Linda Watson said she opposed the rezoning because of traffic and neighborhood character, asking the council to "deny the rezoning of the property directly across the street from me."
Project engineer Justin Booker (Banner Associates) and the developer responded that a berm, swale and a retention pond are part of the drainage plan and that recent design changes are intended to round a berm around the southeast corner to reduce overflow to adjacent yards. Booker added that extremely large, rare storms exceed typical design limits: "We just can't design for [a] rain event than that," he said, referring to an intense storm the public described as exceptional.
On the conditional‑use request to permit townhomes on Blocks 3 and 4 (20 units total as previously approved), residents again pressed for an updated site plan, clearer screening arrangements where residences would abut commercial parking, and confirmed setbacks; multiple speakers asked the council to deny or delay the conditional‑use application until the developer supplied an updated site plan and staff verified code compliance. Councilmember Wayne Avery moved to table the conditional‑use decision until an updated site plan and staff review were available; the motion to table carried on roll‑call.
Council approved the narrow rezoning after staff and developer clarified that the change would not increase the number of housing units and could enable additional stormwater mitigation measures. The council also approved a related revised preliminary plat for the Northern Plains addition that splits the area into smaller blocks to reflect ownership and incorporate the rezoning.
