Naked City

Last week the City Council approved a zoning change on second reading for the Villas on Guadalupe student housing complex near the Drag, but stalled on the third and final reading. The Villas developers seek an ultra-dense (multifamily) MF-6 zoning designation, but Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Goodman requested additional information from city staff comparing MF-6 with MF-5 and MF-4 -- less dense, but still at the high end of the zoning scale. In its current version, the Villas complex includes 150 units and a 395-space parking garage.

The North University Neighborhood Association has submitted a valid petition against the developers' request for ultra-dense MF-6-CO on Tract One of the site, and CS-MU-CO (with conditions) on the second tract. Council approved those staff-recommended zoning standards 5-2 on first reading Jan. 10, but would need six votes to override the petition; as of now, Beverly Griffith and Raul Alvarez oppose to the zoning standards.

Meanwhile, NUNA members are pleased with Goodman's attempts to ask questions and reach compromise, but they worry that council's delaying the third reading gives the Villas developers more time to pressure area residents who signed NUNA's petition to remove their names. "We hope our valid petition will hold," said NUNA President Jerry Roemisch, who alleges that "interest groups" are pressuring council members to approve the Villas. Council could consider third reading as early as its next meeting on March 21.