The planned project, “The Olivia on Marsh Creek” on High Street and Marsh Creek Road has so far overcome significant headwinds causing delays in its groundbreaking.
Despite the State’s looming housing mandate to build affordable housing, which was the basis for its original application to the city, there has been opposition among nearby neighborhood residents. The primary issue with the now planned 81-unit senior 55+ community now is that it will have insufficient parking .
With a divided Council and Planning Commission, the project was approved. Neighborhood opposition filed a lawsuit in 2019 to derail the development, but the judge found in favor of the City. However, the litigation delayed the developer from starting work on the project.
Now the adjacent neighborhoods, Stranahan, Diablo Village, Upper Easley Estates, Lower Easley Estates want the City to implement a resident-only parking permit program.
With each unit only assigned one covered parking space, the belief is that most tenants will come with multiple vehicles, requiring overflow parking to bleed into their neighborhood streets.
One complaint is that despite being a proposed senior living community, there are no enforceable requirements that tenants must be 55 years of age, or only have one car.
Organizers have circulated a petition to residents to support the parking permit program which will be presented to Council in March. If approved, it is possible the developer, Bill Jordan, may be faced with a shrinking market of prospective tenants.
