New apartment complex stalled
Zoning board rejects exceptions to parking, density requirements
By Scott Rochat
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
A proposed Highland Street apartment complex is going back to the drawing board.
The complex is planned for 1220 Highland St.,, just north of Prairie Sage Apartments and south of The Lofts. But on Tuesday night, the Emporia-Lyon County Joint Board of Zoning Appeals shot down requests for the new complex to have three more apartments and six fewer parking spaces than required. On a 3-3 vote, the board also turned down a request to have the complex’s back yard stretch to within 10 feet of the property line, instead of 25 feet.
“We’re disappointed,” said Fred Neuer, who is developing the property along with Nick Laurent. “We think it’s a nice project. ... We think it’ll be great for retired faculty and alumni that want to come back to Emporia State University.”
Neuer and Laurent also developed Prairie Sage and The Lofts as the first two stages of a three-part development. The new complex, which is part three, is still unnamed. A proposal by Laurent showed the complex containing 18 single-bedroom apartments and 30 parking spaces, with some green space included.
But between the three complexes, that would be 123 parking spaces, which is 16 fewer than city regulations require. That concerned the appeals board.
“If we’re going to insist on a certain number of spaces for other projects, I don’t see why this should be any different,” board member Trevor Lewis said.
Neuer said that about a quarter of the parking spaces at Prairie Sage and The Lofts go unused, a figure he reached after a week of observation. Moreover, he said, since the new complex is aimed at retirees, parking needs will likely be less than anticipated by the regulations.
Board member Kevin Nelson sympathized, but didn’t see much the appeals board could do unless the rules were changed.
“Obviously, the planning commission needs to take a look at some of this stuff,” Nelson said. “Times are changing, our culture is changing and we need some guidance. But this isn’t the place to do it.”
And without the parking waiver, the additional apartments became a tougher sell.
“I have less problem with the density than I do with the parking, but I think the two are intertwined,” board member Dave Emig said. “I don’t think I can support the density unless the applicant can provide the parking stalls needed for the entire project.”
Emig did vote to let the complex get within 10 feet of the eastern property line, which borders an alley. The lots across the alleyway are deep ones, he said, and their homes are on the far end, bordering on Exchange Street. Board members Jack Melhorn and Bruce Boettcher voted with him, but Nelson, Lewis and board member Russell Schoenberger voted against, killing it in a deadlock.
As planned, each apartment would be 680 square feet. One neighbor, Roger Heineken, spoke in favor of the development as an improvement to the neighborhood. Board secretary Kevin Hanlin said that a call against the development had come from another neighbor, Dennis Torrens, who said the result would be too much congestion.
Without the variances, the complex will need to be redesigned. But Nelson said that didn’t have to be the end for the project.
“It sounds like that’s not going to kill it,” Nelson said. “They’ll just have to go back and alter it to make things right.”
In other action:
F The board allowed Greg Giger to build a covered porch projecting 10 feet from his home at 404 S. Cottonwood St., beyond the usual setback limits.