Aberdeen board approves amendments to Aberdeen Station plan, adds boutique‑hotel use and excludes crematoriums

The Town of Aberdeen Board of Commissioners on March 24 approved amendments to the Aberdeen Station planned development (CA‑22‑01) to expand and redefine allowable uses for the site, including a new definition for a boutique hotel limited to 50 rooms and several commercial and institutional uses.

Staff member Paul (speaker 6) told the board the applicant sought a comprehensive update to allowable uses so the project could be presented to the public as a single package. The proposed additions included office, major and minor personal services, sports and fitness centers, day care facilities, an education and training center, co‑working space, a boutique hotel (defined as 50 rooms or fewer), and a farmers market; staff also proposed definitions where the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) lacked them.

The planning‑level presentation noted staff had approved certain layout changes earlier this year because they fell below thresholds that require board review; the current matter required board action because changes to allowable uses are treated as material under the UDO. Staff emphasized parking limits, noise rules and traffic thresholds would constrain the scale of some uses. On the boutique hotel, staff said a 50‑room definition would generate an estimated 28 peak‑hour AM trips and about 30 PM trips for a fully built 50‑room hotel, which falls below the town’s threshold for a traffic‑impact study.

Applicant representative Mr. Lemus (speaker 7) described site adjustments tied to a DOT easement and said the boutique hotel will be located in an existing large school building on the site. “We’re not planning at all to do funeral homes or crematories,” the applicant said, and he argued the project will generate new businesses, taxpayers and revenue for the town while retaining and rehabilitating some existing historic buildings.

Several commissioners asked for clarity about heights, layout and the number of housing units. Staff confirmed the revised plan removes previously proposed high towers and replaces them with 2‑ and 3‑story residential buildings limited by the 35‑foot residential height cap; one concept on file showed roughly 54 multifamily units and 18 single‑family units as an option, though exact final counts depend on later engineering, wetland delineation and parking calculations.

Commissioners discussed a UDO categorization issue: the town’s current ‘‘personal services’’ commercial classification includes funeral homes and crematoriums. Staff recommended, and the board agreed, to add a condition specifically excluding funeral homes and crematoriums from the personal‑services category for this planned development. The board voted to adopt staff’s reasonableness and consistency statement for the amendment and then approved the conditional‑use updates and the amended conditions; both motions passed by voice vote.

Next steps: staff will finalize the text changes and conditions, coordinate any necessary technical reviews (TRC) and work with the applicant on a final development agreement and permitting pathway. Commissioners also asked staff to return with any required UDO text amendments if broader code changes are needed to accommodate the new definitions.