The Durango Planning Commission has recommended denying a proposal to build a 202-unit apartment complex on Florida Road after it received a flood of public comments from neighborhood residents objecting to the project.
About 58 residents tuned into a Planning Commission meeting held virtually last month, of which about 20 people spoke against the apartment complex, called the Sophia Apartments. No residents spoke in favor of the project.
Concerns included traffic congestion, safety issues, over-density and preservation of mature trees that house nesting hawks and owls. Residents also expressed concerns about possible impacts to the nearby historic Animas City Cemetery.
Of the 202 units, only 16%, or 32 units, would be rent-restricted as “affordable” or “attainable” – another issue residents raised about the development.
Planning commissioners also expressed weariness about the proposal prior to the developer’s presentation, which was delivered by Dean Brookie on behalf of J Street Cos.
Planning Commissioner Alma Evans noted the proposed apartments would tower over other structures on Florida Road, standing 50-feet high or higher, ruining hillside views not just for immediately adjacent residents but for folks living on the other side of the valley.
She was also concerned about a gym, office and swimming pool being placed in close proximity to the Animas City Cemetery.
Planning Commission member Susan Ulery said the sheer mass of eight tall buildings, all squeezed together on two benches despite the site being 16 acres wide, would dominate the 900 block of Florida Road, just north of Chapman Hill. Light pollution from 202 apartments and traffic congestion were also of concern.
TJ McNichols spoke on behalf of residents from several area neighborhoods. He said the development would bring the total number of intersections on the 0.03-mile stretch of Florida Road between Colorado Avenue and Aspen Drive to eight, and increased traffic would make existing turn lanes all the more difficult to navigate.
He said a traffic study submitted by the developer that supposedly demonstrates the apartments wouldn’t cause excessive wait times along Florida Road from Holly Avenue to Riverview Drive was seriously flawed.
The study was conducted on Jan. 19 during a snowstorm that delivered 2 feet of snow and essentially shut down the city, including Riverview Elementary School less than half a mile from the proposed development site, he said.
“I’m going to assume the study timing has been a simple oversight as opposed to intellectual dishonesty during the several presentations of the study today,” he said. “Either way, I believe this puts the report findings in jeopardy and therefore request for a new study to be conducted.”
He said September is a better time to conduct a traffic study because it is more representative of typical Florida Road conditions, with school in session, bicycles and pedestrians out, and an absence of hazardous road conditions.
The city has not yet adopted a formal definition of “affordable” housing, which is something it intends to do in September, so it doesn’t make since for the developer to label 16% of the units as being affordable at this time, McNichols said.
“Many will declare a victory for the creation of 32 affordable rental units. But what is actually being created is the additional 170 unaffordable units,” he said. “One hundred seventy apartments that will have monthly rental costs of $3,000. This is ultimately compounding the housing problem in Durango.
“Rent that high is simply not affordable for teachers, nurses and firefighters who work their butts off for this community,” he said. “Workers who have not had the opportunity to own a property in the community they serve. The units will never be owner-occupied, will have zero involvement from local banks, real estate agents, local developers. Instead, the rental money will instantly leave the Durango community as the land and buildings for the proposed development will be permanently owned by an out-of-state developer.”
Suzanne Connors, a resident of North College Drive, said the proposal does not address Durango’s affordable housing issue and stands to exacerbate it.
The city has more than 1,300 new rental units in the pipeline and about 450 more designated for homeownership. She said the Sophia Apartments is not a good fit for Florida Road.
“There is no local wealth being created by this project,” she said. “... This money is not going into our community, but rather, into their pockets.”
Connors said the city is skilled at performing housing infill projects, but the Sophia Apartments is not that kind of development and the city can do better.
The Planning Commission’s recommendation of denial will be given to Durango City Council at its June 20 regular meeting. While the Planning Commission’s recommendation carries weight, City Council can still choose to approve, deny or continue the proposal.
cburney@durangoherald.com
An previous version of this story misspelled Suzanne Connors’ name.
