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Council denies neighborhood appeal, approves Nelson Hackett multifamily project with parking-limit condition
Summary
After months of review and neighborhood meetings, council denied an appeal of the planning commission approval for a 38‑unit multifamily development and attached a condition on the developer’s plat limiting parking‑district passes to 29 for the project; council also asked staff to facilitate a neighborhood parking‑district process if spillover issues arise.
The city council heard a lengthy appeal of a planning-commission approval for a 38-unit multifamily project near North Nelson Hackett Boulevard. Jonathan (Development Services) summarized staff’s evaluation of site layout, parking, access and the safety analysis that led staff to recommend approval with conditions. Chief Hartman (Fire Department) reviewed street-width and emergency-access considerations and said the project meets current response standards.
Neighbors and neighborhood spokespeople urged denial, saying the site’s parking provision—77 on-site spaces and 29 adjacent on-street spaces on the developer’s frontage—would cause spillover into narrow residential streets, aggravate safety problems and complicate future gentle densification. Multiple residents requested a bill of assurance or a binding commitment that the developer’s tenants would not be eligible for unlimited parking-district passes.
The developer said it had met with neighbors, circulated a memorandum of understanding and was willing to accept a plat notation limiting parking‑district passes to the 29 spaces proposed. Jeff Joyce, attorney for the developer, told council the plat note would create a permanent public-record condition enforceable in the future.
Council members discussed options, including requiring a parking-management district or placing a binding note on the developer's plat limiting the number of parking passes. After an amendment to add a plat condition limiting parking-district passes to 29, the council voted to deny the appeal (thereby upholding the large-scale development approval) subject to the plat notation limiting parking passes; roll-call showed a majority in favor (8–1). Staff said the plaintiff may pursue implementation issues through the standard modification and enforcement processes if problems arise.
Council also discussed timeline and logistics for creating a neighborhood parking-management district and agreed staff would assist neighborhood leaders if spillover issues manifest after the project is built.
