Concerns Raised About Housing Project’s Density
A proposed rezoning in the 2500 block of Sycamore Avenue in Buena Vista to allow multi-family housing is raising concerns among some about the future of what is and has historically been a largely African American residential neighborhood of single-family homes.
City Council will consider, at its next meeting on Thursday, Jan. 2, a request by Ryan Goodsell to rezone the southern half of the block from R3 (residential limited) to R4 (medium density residential). The block is bounded by Sycamore Avenue on the east, Park Avenue on the north, Ivy Ave on the west and 25th Street on the south.
Goodsell’s proposal also includes applying for conditional use permits to develop four apartment units by renovating an existing structure at 2517/2519 Sycamore Ave., and to build two new duplexes on an adjacent property.
The 5,000-square-foot existing structure, which has had multi-family use in the past but has most recently been used as a single-family residence, would keep the same footprint but the interior would be reconfigured into four apartment units of approximately 1,250 square feet of floor space each.
The two new duplexes would be at the corner of 25th Street and Sycamore Avenue, and each of the four units would have about 1,088 square feet of floor space. In order for these duplexes to be built, an existing single-family house at 2507 Sycamore Ave. would have to be razed.
Goodsell presented these most recent plans for a mutlifamily housing project to the Planning Commission on Dec. 10. These plans for eight units had been scaled back from an original proposal to develop 12 units, configured as apartments and townhouses which would have included two additional duplexes. A couple of citizens raised objections to the density of the original proposal at the Commission’s Nov. 12 meeting.
No action was taken at that earlier meeting. At the Dec. 10 meeting, the Commission opted to forward Goodsell’s request for the revised plans to City Council but without making a recommendation on whether to approve them or not.
At the Nov. 12 meeting, Danta Thompson, a neighbor and pastor of a church that’s also in the neighborhood, alluded to the history of the African American neighborhood that dates to the early 20th century. The density of the proposed development would diminish the neighborhood, she said, adding that the rezoning could potentially lead to encroachment by commercial development.
An R4 zoning designation, which would be needed for a four-unit residential structure, is primarily residential but does allow commercial professional offices by right, though a conditional use permit would be required for retail establishments.
Joe Milo, a property owner, told the Commission at the Nov. 12 meeting that he was glad someone was willing to invest in the neighborhood but he too objected to the density of the housing as proposed.
