Neighbors, commissioners say Pulgas rezoning heightens traffic and open-space concerns

Residents spoke during public comment and told the commission the Pulgas corridor is routinely congested and may not safely absorb traffic from dozens more households. Chris Barr, a resident at 956 Main Street, asked how the project would be assessed in the context of another large apartment complex nearby and highlighted cumulative traffic impacts. "How is this being assessed with also the current apartment building being built off of Week Street? That's a big apartment building complex right there," Barr told commissioners.

Dixie Schultz also urged caution and questioned whether the street network and nearby parks can absorb the additional residents, noting that the nearest park and sidewalk infrastructure are limited. Staff replied that environmental analyses for the RBD update consider existing and pending projects and that any future development application for Pulgas would require project-level environmental and traffic analysis. Commissioners asked for specifics on unit yields under current zoning versus rezoning: staff noted RMD1 base zoning would yield about 31 units (potentially rising toward ~50 with density bonuses), while the applicant's RMD2 proposal supports the 62-unit design.

Those concerns factored into the commission's deliberations; the commission nevertheless recommended the rezoning, noting that detailed traffic mitigation and project-level review would be required before any building permits could be issued.