Preliminary plat and development applications for new apartments at 10th and Peach Street were reviewed by the Planning Commission Wednesday night.
This project, Paschal’s Landing, is a collaboration between GW Weld and Dustin Baker. The property will be split into two sections. The affordable housing section will be called Paschal’s Landing, while the market-rate options will be called 10 Union Lofts.
Paschal’s Landing will have a mix of two and three bedrooms totaling 36 units. 10 Union Lofts will have one, two and three bedroom options totaling 96 units.
There will be 1.5 parking spots per unit, something that has become a standard for surrounding communities, Weld said. This will allow some families to have two cars and some will only have one. There are 144 stalls included in the plan.
A rendering of the preliminary design plans is below:
Commissioners had questions about the number of spaces and questioned what they would do if it came to a point they needed to expand parking into the green space since they plan to keep the existing pond next to the buildings.
“One of the things that we think this project serves in Eudora is we’ve got a lot of seniors that like to downsize and stay in town, and they don’t really have a place to go,” he said. “So I would see a lot of people that would want a two bedroom and have an office set-up in one room, or maybe a guest bedroom when grandkids come over and stay.”
Weld said ultimately it would be up to them to make sure renters have a place to park, but he is confident with this arrangement because of other cities around Eudora also using this number. If it ever did become an issue, there is a place to add about 14-16 spots without taking away much green space.
Another concern was raised about the crosswalks from the apartments to the elementary school side of the street. The developers are having conversations about what the crosswalks will be like since the Kansas Department of Transportation has guidelines on what kind of measures can be used in certain situations.
Since there are two entrances to the two sections of the apartment complex, it is possible two crosswalks will be necessary.
They also discussed how to potentially encourage residents to cross on the 10th and Peach intersection rather than the intersection with the entrance to the school for safety reasons.
Weld said the mayor has also expressed concerns about the crosswalk situation, and Weld said he has made commitments to safety with him. Weld said they are also having talks about the possibility of helping pay for crossing guards for one or both crosswalks and about future infrastructure improvements once more developers are expanding the area.
More details about these crosswalks will be discussed in the future.
The project has already been approved forlow-income housing tax credits. Weld previously said the affordable units will be between $500 and $950 for monthly rent. Market rent will be between $1,100 and $1,650. To live in this section, renters will have to make 30-50% of the median income.
Commissioners approved the preliminary plans, but asked that the applicants add in the future possible parking into the rendering in their final draft so that if those spots become necessary they are already on the plat. This item will move on to the City Commission.
“I know this does have two entrances, but just kind of curious to see what the rest of the commissioner’s thoughts are with having two signs versus one and then the parking,” Chairman Grant Martin said.
Vice Chairman Josh Hargar asked if Weld thought it would be hard to rent the covered parking spots.
Weld and Baker agreed these are usually the first spots to be filled, and Weld said they would change rates to make sure the spots get filled.
Both the final plat and final development plan will also have to be taken through planning and City Commission.
In other business, the Holy Family Catholic Church received approval from the city to reduce its parking spaces in order to make room for a new dumpster enclosure.
Due to the parking lot requirement variance, the Board of Zoning Appeals already saw this item and approved the request. The Planning Commission must approve all items dealing with parking lots.
The church will lose two parking spots to make room for the new enclosed dumpster space.
In other business, city planning consultant Kyle Kobe presented an idea about altering and reorganizing the city’s code handbook. Currently, some things are unclear or in the wrong spot in the book, he said. No action was taken on this item, and rather served in asking commissioners what they wanted.
Commissioners agreed new residential zoning categories are a priority, along with making the codes more efficient for staff and applicants.
This will be discussed further at the City Commission and at a future joint meeting.
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected]
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