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Applicant representative says overlay removal could unlock housing where storefronts sit vacant
Summary
Tracy Brown, representing the property owner, told the Planning Commission the applicant's exhibits show high residential occupancy alongside vacant storefronts and that lenders assigned little value to commercial space, arguing the overlay removal would improve the site's chances for housing development.
Tracy Brown identified herself to the commission as the applicant’s representative and urged support for the amendment to remove the storefront overlay. She told commissioners she wrote the application narrative and exhibits that documented nearby mixed-use projects with high residential occupancy but multiple vacant ground-floor commercial units, and she said lenders had not assigned significant value to the commercial components during financing.
"I'm representing the applicant or the owners and I was the applicant on the project," Brown said, and later read from an owner's support letter describing an apartment project that is "about 90% occupied and 3 personal spaces which have never been occupied." Brown asked the commission to recommend approval to council so development that focuses on housing could become viable on the site.
