City zoning board approves River Gate building variance

The Athens Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously last week to approve a single variance a developer had requested for student housing it plans to build near Ohio University's South Green.

Construction on the proposed $15 million, 232-bed apartment building, called "River Gate," is slated to start sometime this year, provided the developers receive approval through the Title 41 site plan review process with the Athens Planning Commission this Thursday.

The Board of Zoning Appeals granted the developer's request for lot coverage for the 2.59-acre property of 77.5 percent, whereas the normal limit in city zoning code is 60 percent. The term "lot coverage" refers to the "footprint" a building makes on is property site.

The proposed 3.5-story apartment building will replace the building that now contains the New Life Assembly of God church, located at 10 S. Green Drive.

The building would join the ranks of the nearby River Park and River's Edge student apartment complexes. Columbus-based student housing company Homestead U, LLC, is developer/owner of the three existing or proposed apartment complexes.

A firm that was started by the company specifically to buy the land, Delaware-based Athens River Gate, LCL, bought the two lots occupied by New Life Assembly of God for $1.7 million in late August.

Local attorney Ken Ryan voiced some concerns about the proposed project during the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. Ryan, speaking for a group of commercial real-estate owners in Athens, said that granting the variance could pave the way for other developers to find a way around the lot coverage requirement in city code.

"I would also submit that it would grant special privilege to them that would not necessarily be afforded others," Ryan said. "These are not the only developers who seek to develop in the city of Athens."

Dave Fisher, lawyer for Homestead U., said during the meeting that the request for the variance on lot coverage is justified in some way because of the usage of trees and pervious pavement (which allows water to drain through) and grass in the space. Those are all factors in the city's rationale for lot coverage requirements, as the specific coverage of a building on a property affects green space and storm-water management issues.

Fisher said Homestead U had included provisions in its plans for 4-inch trunks on trees used on the property, compared to the city-mandated 1.5-inch width of tree trunks. Grass pavers also will be used in 6.3 percent of the site's area for parking, on top of permeable surfaces used in the parking spaces contained in an underground parking lot below the proposed housing. According to design plans for the project provided by Dave Anderson, president of Homestead U, about 40.9 percent of the site would consist of pervious surfaces.

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City zoning board approves River Gate building variance