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Council keeps code exception to allow unified redevelopment along West 44th; neighbors want protections
Summary
Council voted 4'1 to retain a draft exception allowing developers to vacate portions of alley that dump into West 44th if they provide a new alley connection and buffering; residents and council members pressed staff about sewer, buffering, and potential neighborhood noise and truck impacts.
The council voted at the Aug. 3 workshop to retain an exception in the consolidated draft that would allow unified redevelopment along West 44th Avenue through an alley-vacation mechanism, provided developers dedicate a new alley that connects to a local arterial and provide buffering from adjacent residential uses.
Town attorney Austin Pierce Flanagan presented a map and an illustration showing how a developer could vacate an alley segment that currently dumps into West 44th and instead build a new alley that dumps onto a less-intense local street. He said the draft requires the developer to dedicate a new alley in exchange for the vacation and includes buffering standards: "A solid fence or wall or a combination of berms, fences, and walls shall be provided along all uses in the MXC District adjacent to any residential use," he said.
Council members and residents asked practical questions on utilities and noise: staff acknowledged unified redevelopment would typically require replacement of sewer and water infrastructure and said improvements are made as new development occurs. Council approved keeping the vacation exception with a 4-to-1 majority after discussion of sewer impacts and the need for buffering and other protections for neighbors.
