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Board approves master‑plan amendment for 5101 Congress Avenue, strips $1,500 beautification charge
Summary
The board removed a bank‑only restriction on a parcel at 5101 Congress Avenue and voted 5–0 to approve the amendment; members directed staff to strike a $1,500 beautification payment after the applicant said the larger prior payment had already been made.
The Planning & Zoning Board approved an amendment to the conditional employee service node master plan for 5101 Congress Avenue on March 20, removing a bank‑only restriction for Tract D and allowing any use listed under the master plan.
Senior planner Owen Devlin told the board the amendment does not increase intensity or density and complies with code; staff recommended approval. Devlin also reported an update to a condition in the resolution: staff located a prior $37,500 beautification contribution and revised the condition on the current amendment to a $1,500 linear‑foot payment, which appeared in the updated resolution language.
Applicant Ellie Zacharias said she believed the larger contribution had already been paid at the time of the original plan and objected to a requirement that would obligate her parcel to pay again for the same master plan; she said she was not prepared to "voluntarily" pay another $1,500 in light of evidence staff had located showing an earlier payment. The city attorney and staff clarified that a proffer offered before approval is recorded as voluntary at the time but becomes mandatory once formally included as a resolution condition.
Board members expressed concern about the contradictory language in the condition ("shall" versus "voluntary") and about fairness to a single property owner asked to carry a portion of a larger master‑plan contribution. After public comment in support of the amendment, the board directed staff to remove the $1,500 condition and then voted to approve the master‑plan amendment; the roll call was 5–0 in favor.
What’s next: staff will prepare the revised resolution text without the $1,500 beautification provision and file the adopted amendment for administrative processing. The amendment will allow Tract D to be marketed to a broader range of tenants permitted by the master plan.
