The Ventura Planning Commission approved a proposed 75-unit apartment project, including eight units for very low-income residents, after more than four hours of debate.
Commissioners voted 3-2 on May 27 to approve the development at 1655 E. Thompson Blvd., a less-than-one-acre site currently used for outdoor storage and camper shell sales. Commissioners Scott McCarty and Lucas Zucker were absent.
The plans call for a three-story building with a partial fourth-story element reaching a total height of 50 feet, 6 inches, exceeding city height limits. The applicant requested density bonus concessions, according to a staff report.
The height is allowed under the state’s density bonus law, which offers flexibility in development rules in exchange for including affordable housing.
The project proposes 57 parking spaces, well short of the city’s required 107 and fewer than the 85 spaces otherwise required under the density bonus law, according to the report. The applicant requested a concession.
The eight very low-income units will be deed-restricted for 55 years, according to the report.
The development, called Thompson Court Apartments, is near commercial retail, a hotel and single-family and multifamily housing, Tyler Walter, senior planner for the city, said at the meeting.
Commissioners Jenny Lagerquist and Mark Abbe voted against the project.
“I can’t see how the developer has tried in any way to make this a development that fits into the community,” Lagerquist said.
Abbe said he wanted issues related to parking, building height, shade and neighborhood compatibility resolved first. “I wish there were lots of changes to this,” he said.
Paul Sheehan of Dyer Sheehan Group Inc., a Ventura real estate consulting and brokerage firm, represented the applicant. He said the state density bonus law is intended to facilitate the construction of affordable housing in otherwise market-rate projects.
Sheehan said many residents of the development may “not necessarily own cars” and that the parking provided would be functional.
Nearly 30 people spoke in person or virtually at the meeting, split between those in favor and those opposed.
Speaker Doug Kidwell said the development is not compatible with the neighborhood.
“It would be more trash— it would be more traffic,” he said. “It would be a whole lot more people in an already congested neighborhood with very narrow streets.”
Stephanie Caldwell, president and CEO of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, supported the project.
“Eight very low-income units are very important to our community,” she said.
Commissioner Hollee King Winnegar said she had concerns but did not believe the commission had a “real public health and safety reason” to deny the project, citing comments from the city attorney, planning director and staff. She said residents can appeal the decision to the City Council.
Rachel Dimond, the city’s community development director, said appeals to the City Council would cost a $2,000 fee.
City Hall was closed on May 29 and planning department staff were out, so it is unclear whether an appeal has been filed, said Jennifer Nance, spokesperson for the city, in an email.
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura OKs 75-unit housing project with affordable units after debate
Reporting by Wes Woods II, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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