Debate on South Lincoln Apartment Complex Not Over

A proposal to build a large apartment complex on South Lincoln Street still has one more shot at approval.

Kent City Council voted Feb. 2 during a committee meeting to deny a rezoning request that would have effectively paved the way for construction of the 596-bed complex. The vote was 5-4.

But council still has to vote on the issue at its regular meeting Feb. 16, and in the meantime the developer has not given up on its plans for the approximately $25 million project.

Kent attorney Dave Williams, representing Edwards Communities Development Co., said Monday that the firm is exploring all its options for moving the proposal forward.

“We’d like to move forward," Williams said. "We hope to be able to address some of the concerns that were raised at the committee meeting. We’re really at this point exploring all the options that are available.”

The firm can again ask for approval of the rezoning request at the Feb. 16 meeting, or they could ask for council's approval of another agreeement that could still permit construction of the apartment complex.

Williams declined to discuss what the firm's options are, but several alternatives were raised during last week's council meeting as a means to permit the project without rezoning the 10-acre proposed site from R-3 to R-4 zoning, which permits much more dense residential construction.

Councilman John Kuhar asked if the council can create a whole new zoning classification that would put specific restrictions in place for developing the site to allow the Edwards Communities project but not open the land up for simply any other project.

"That's something that could be explored," Kent Community Development Department Director Gary Locke said.

Another possibility is for the company and the city to enter into an agreement that would limit Edwards Communities to building its apartment complex as proposed and not allow it to build a larger complex if the land is rezoned.

Ryan Szymanski, a vice president at the Columbus-based development firm, told council members last week that Edwards Communities has agreed to development limitations for past projects.

“If there was anyway to commit to it we would be right behind it,” Szymanski said. "We are not going to change it. We have the financial capability to get this done.”

A majority of council expressed support for the project, but some members who voted against the rezoning request said they feared changing the zoning would open the property up for too dense a project in the future if this proposal failed to come to fruition.

"I want to make sure we're going to get what is proposed," Councilman Erik Valenta said. “I love this project ... I think it would be a great asset to our city. But if this project does not happen … I’m worried about something else put in there that may be more detrimental to the neighborhood.”

The land is zoned R-3, which permits up to eight residential units per acre. The proposed R-4 zoning would allow a maximum 32 units per acre.

Most of the residents who attended last week's council meeting opposed the rezoning request. But at least one said she might be able to support the actual project itself, which calls for a 4.5-acre buffer "park area" between the complex and the adjacent residential neighborhood.

Amanda Ennis, who lives on High Street near the proposed site, said she realizes the land is not going to become a single-family neighborhood.

Ennis said she may be able to live with the 600-bed proposal and a small park near her neighborhood, but she fears another much-larger project could be built if council approves the rezoning request.

"It all sounds acceptable … but there’s really no way to hold them to all the nice promises they’re making,” Ennis said. "In my perfect world, the city would turn it into a park."