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Forsyth Park-area rezoning for mixed-use office and city-owned parking draws split response; first reading set for Jan. 9
Summary
Council took first reading on a petition to change land-use and zoning for four parcels near Forsyth Park to allow a mixed-use office complex with an underground garage that the developer said would be deeded to the city; neighbors raised concerns about scale and construction impacts while the Victorian Neighborhood Association expressed conditional support.
A proposal to reclassify four parcels near Forsyth Park from traditional-neighborhood (TN1) to traditional-commercial (TC2) — enabling a developer’s plan for several office buildings over a subsurface parking garage — drew both neighborhood opposition and institutional support at a public hearing Dec. 19.
Harold Yellin, attorney for the petitioner, said the plan calls for three office buildings over an underground parking garage that, under a development agreement cited in the hearing, “once the parking garage is fully constructed, it will be deeded to the city for $1.” The petitioner stressed that the rezoning would be followed by additional design and historic-review steps at MPC and the Historic Preservation Commission.
Residents living adjacent to the site described concerns about scale, construction impacts, groundwater and traffic. Elaine Pickard, who represents townhouse owners near the site, said renderings disclosed in related materials showed buildings that exceed TC-2 limits and requested denial until project details align with zoning standards. Other neighbors pressed for guarantees such as limited hours for any public parking and community-benefit provisions.
The Victorian Neighborhood Association submitted a letter and several speakers reiterated VNA board support, noting the petitioner’s ongoing engagement with the neighborhood and the petitioner’s voluntary offer to limit new uses to TN-1 standards despite seeking TC-2 zoning.
Council did not take final action at the Dec. 19 meeting. Because one member objected to taking first-and-second reading at the same session, the petitions were held at first reading and are scheduled for second reading and potential final action on Jan. 9, 2025. Council members asked the petitioner to continue neighborhood outreach and emphasized that design and site-plan variances would require further public hearings.
