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Board questions whether 70‑unit‑per‑acre cap can support proposed 50‑story schemes
Summary
Board members raised repeated concerns that the existing 70 units‑per‑acre density cap makes 50‑story / 500‑foot buildings financially and logistically impractical without a comprehensive‑plan density amendment; staff noted density cannot be changed as part of this ordinance and clarified next steps.
Several board members pressed staff and members about the economics and feasibility of mounting 50‑story buildings under the existing density cap.
One board member, addressed in the record as Murphy, said: "If you're gonna go to a 50 story building and have 70 units per acre...that's not gonna work." Murphy and other members walked through hypothetical footprints and unit counts and argued that with the base 70 units per acre and the limited number of transferable units, tall buildings would either require far more units or very different floor‑plan strategies. Murphy said he could not support a density change at the same hearing and reiterated that any density increase would require an amendment to the comprehensive plan.
Staff reiterated the legal limit: "The density is the same...we have the base density of 70 units per acre and that's not changing." The board discussed operational safeguards embedded in the amendment (site size threshold, development agreement requirements and benefit offsets) that, in their view, would limit broad application of the bonus and reduce the likelihood of widespread density impacts.
The exchange prompted directions for staff to confirm the remaining inventory of transferable development rights (TDRs) and report back to the board.
