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Work session exposes neighborhood split over Oldtown multifamily façades, color and streetfront design
Summary
At a July 1 work session the Planning Commission reviewed revised architecture for two multifamily buildings at Park and Brooks (SP-9821-2024). Staff and the applicant added hip dormers, masonry wraps and revised rooflines; residents urged red/earth‑tone brick, more traditional detailing and stronger first‑floor activation to fit Oldtown.
The Planning Commission held a public work session July 1 on SP-9821-2024, a revised preliminary-final site plan proposing two multifamily buildings on Park and Brooks Avenue in Oldtown. The applicant's design team (SMW Architects and Harris Design & Construction) presented updated elevations that add hip dormers, extend masonry around building ends, recess balconies on the street-facing façades and consolidate trash collection into an internal room with roll-out dumpsters to be handled off the commercial service road.
Commissioners and staff emphasized several architectural and site details to be resolved at final site plan: - Streetfront and fence treatment: Commissioners asked the team to reconsider a long fence/wall along Park Avenue and the treatment where parking and a bio-swale meet the sidewalk; several commissioners preferred pulling fencing back and integrating a low knee wall or other architecture that ties to the building base rather than a tall masonry barrier directly on the street. - Roof articulation and dormers: The applicant added hipped dormers to break the long hip roof; commissioners asked for clearer roof eave breaks and sections showing mechanical equipment and condenser screening to ensure rooftop units are concealed. - Materials, color and detailing: Multiple neighbors and commissioners urged a shift toward red/earth‑tone brick and additional soldier-course and window head/sill detailing that reference Oldtown's historic vernacular; some neighborhood speakers described the current gray-and-white schemes as "flat, lifeless" and urged options that blend rather than starkly contrast with adjacent historic buildings. - Service and utilities: The applicant explained rear trash collection logistics and rooftop condenser placement; commissioners asked for clarity on downspout routing and recessed details so that water is properly handled without creating exposed, prominent downspouts on façades.
Several residents spoke during the work session. Public commenter Clark Day said the current renderings looked like "ugly, flat, lifeless, black and white buildings" and urged a material palette that fits Oldtown. Other commenters (Harold Dise, Emily Lynn, Nick Lynn, Lisa Scheler) asked for more traditional brick tones and additional façade detailing. The applicant agreed to produce revised color/material schemes and additional sections and said final architecture will return at the commission's final meeting on August 5.
What's next: Staff and the applicant will prepare refined color/material options, roof sections showing mechanical screening and alternatives for the fence/wall treatment. The project's final action is scheduled for August 5, when the commission expects to see updated materials and details addressing tonight's concerns.
