Baldwin Court Apartments, LLC cleared their first hurdle in adding an additional building and parking spaces to the existing apartment complex. During Monday night’s council meeting, the City Council approved the first reading of the two zoning variance requests.
Baldwin Court Apartments, LLC submitted an application for the two variances to build an additional 10 unit two bedroom two bath apartment building in the complex. They also requested an increase in parking spaces. The development will add an additional 33 spaces to accommodate the new tenants once the building is completed.
The property owners will remove the existing office building at the rear of the property to make way for the new apartment building.
According to Chief Administrative Officer Emily Woodmaster, this is not the first time that the property owner has made such a request. She tells the council that about a year and a half ago, the property owner suggested adding 24 more units to the complex. At that time, the council denied the variance requests.
Woodmaster tells the council that the reason for the new building is to accommodate a need in the current housing market. She stated that there is really nothing available to rent in the Baldwin area and this would help the current housing situation in the city. She stated that the rent for the new units would be somewhere between $1,100 and $1,200 per month.
Currently, Baldwin’s zoning ordinance only allows density for property zoned R-3 to be restricted to eight units per acre. The property is four acres and has a density of 11 units per acre. However, Woodmaster explains that the complex was built prior to the current zoning ordinance. Under the old zoning ordinance, the density allowed was 12 units per acre.
Councilwoman Alice Venter explained that she was part of the council that denied the last request from the property owner. At that time, the owner wanted to add four more buildings to the complex. She stated, “That was too much. It wasn’t designed for that.” However, for the current project, she states, “This looks a lot better. This is a lot more palatable.”
Woodmaster also explained that the property owner was open to reserving one or two of the new units for tenants that work as firefighters or police officers. The complex already has a handful of tenants living at the complex that are police officers that work in and around the area.
The next step for the property owners to face is a public hearing where citizens can express their approval or opposition of the project. The public hearing will be held on Tuesday Mar. 5, during the council’s work session. The second reading of the zoning variances and final approval from the council for the project is scheduled for Monday Mar. 11.
