By Anne Bodine, VP of Development

On June 18, the County Board voted 4-0 to approve a conditional use permit for Tyndale Christian School on the site owned by Bloss Free Will Baptist Church at 716 N. Barton St. The school will be operating pursuant to conditions laid out in the Board report of June 14 (and revised on June 18). This allows the school to operate for six months with up to 40 students (elementary through 8th grade), using four onsite parking spots (vs. six to seven spots required by code) and waiving the code requirement for a loading area. The church use at this site has been discontinued.

The approved use permit was a revision from the original request to enroll up to 80 students this year (with a larger onsite parking requirement). LPCA requested that the Board pursue a one-month deferral to let the applicant secure a permanent fix for the parking and get more clarity on the pick-up/drop-off (PUDO) plans. As the school aims for an eventual enrollment of`135, the parking and transportation issues present a quandary. Many public speakers supported the school, but the majority expressed concerns about these two issues. LPCA welcomes the school and will stay engaged as things advance onsite. Contact annebodine@yahoo.com if you have comments on the school as it gears up to welcome its first class. 

On July 22, the County Board approved a site plan amendment (SP#465) for the Joyce Motors project, an 11-story mixed-use residential building with 231 units planned for development at 1020 North Irving Street. The LPCA is one of five civic associations permitted to comment on the project, as we were involved in the 2022 update to the Clarendon Sector Plan. The applicant received an additional 1,629 square feet of gross floor area, a slight revision to the window design, a reduction of 10 residential units, and the elimination of 37 below-grade parking spaces. According to Ashton Heights, which lobbied for better parking during the initial site plan review, the developer will now have a parking ratio of .52 spaces per residential unit—less than the developer’s original 2021 request for a .57 ratio, which Ashton Heights opposed, and significantly less than the .64 ratio that was originally approved by the Board. While the county indicated in July that “this [revised] parking ratio is consistent with adopted County guidance,” it nonetheless requires a variance from the zoning code. The county further justified the reduction by noting that Clarendon is very transit-accessible. The LPCA objected to the parking reduction while agreeing to the other requests. We pointed out that this project was the first to be approved under the more developer-friendly sector plan revisions and that such significant reductions were not supported by the parking experience from other recent high-density constructions. We requested a parking study and the return of the 10th St. Park, which had originally been promised as a community benefit for this development.

Perhaps most troubling is that both of these cases exposed severe flaws with the process of our community engagement. In the Tyndale case, the county staff failed to notify LPCA of a substantive change in the parking elements that severely affected community consensus. Staff admitted as much at the Board meeting, but this practice undercuts the very idea of proper engagement. Additionally, the Board rearranged the regular order of the meeting, allowing Board Chair Garvey to miss the extensive public comment, and only hearing positions of the applicant and staff. This would be like a judge absenting him/herself from the courtroom for part of a trial. LPCA also believes the county violated the State Freedom of Information Act, which requires local jurisdictions to make board materials available to the public at the same time they make them available to the County Board. In the case of Joyce Motors, we were excluded entirely from the negotiation with the developer to agree on additional community benefits. In this case, the developer will add funds to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund, but the site plan review process is supposed to ensure the affected neighborhoods remain part of the process throughout. LPCA believes we need to address the exclusions that are apparently taking place if/when applicants pursue site plan amendments. The seat at the table is not negotiable. We may take this to the Civic Federation for broader consideration next year.

Come to the September 11 LPCA meeting at 7 p.m. at the Community Center if you want to hear more or ask questions. If you are interested in getting involved in future discussions, please contact Michael Kunkler at LyonParkPresident@gmail.com.