There could soon be 15 new townhomes in the 900 block of Harlem Avenue.
The Forest Park Planning and Zoning Commission approved on Sept. 29 a petition to change the zoning at 939-949 S. Harlem from a business district to a high-density residential one to accommodate about a half-acre of new townhomes. If the village council OKs the zoning change, construction on the property could start as early as next spring.
Kaitlyn Woodward, project architect at 2rz Architecture, presented the proposed development to the commission. The plans include 15 townhomes with 30 parking spaces on-site. The townhomes will be three stories tall, split into two parallel buildings with a one-way center drive aisle between them that connects the primary entrance on Harvard with the alley exit. Each unit will be between around 2,600 and 2,700 square feet.
Currently in an R3, high-density residential district, the maximum amount of a lot that a building can cover is 40%, but the townhomes are proposed to cover 85% of the site. Required setbacks for how far the building must be from the property line are 20 feet in the front of the property, 10 feet on the side and 25 feet in the rear. The townhouse development proposes setbacks of 10 feet, 10 inches in the front, 9 feet, 11 inches on the side, and 13 feet, 6 inches in the back of the property.
Kevin Hibbits was the only one of seven board members on the zoning commission to vote against the proposed townhomes…