VICTOR — When the city council approved annexation for Birch Crossing in May, it attached 14 conditions for a proposed 158-unit development, but the developer abandoned the project over zoning. The property's three owners are left asking the council to strike the conditions. The council voted 3-0 on Aug. 26 to reopen the approval and send it to the Planning and Zoning Commission and a new public hearing.
Spencer Stewart, Francisco Lazalde, and Val D. Kunz wrote to the mayor and council on July 16 that they "accept and would agree to the annexation and the RS-7 zoning designation approved at the public hearing," and asked that all 14 be removed. "A common thread runs through the conditions," their letter reads. "Nearly all were drafted around the specific D&B Partners project, which will not be built, or they duplicate requirements already imposed by City code on every development."
D&B Partners, LLC had proposed 146 apartments in seven buildings on the property's RM-2 portion and 12 duplex and townhome units on the RM-1 portion. The council annexed the ground and assigned RS-7 single-family zoning on May 27 instead, and the sale contract between the company and the owners was later terminated. The developer "has since stepped down," Planning and Zoning Director Kim Kolner told the council, "but the 3 property owners would still like to see this through."