The proposed development would replace the old Azalea Inn on Market Street — a motel that was for many years a nuisance for the city. By right, land owners could rebuild a larger motel or other office building there — but to build a housing complex the property has to be rezoned.
Notably, the rezoning vote was on the same night as a contentious ordinance impacting the homeless — so there were dozens of people in the audience with signs opposing homeless criminalization. Many called out for more affordable housing as a potential solution – but the public hearing for just such a complex prompted mixed opinions.
Lisa James lives next door to the lot. She said, “this development doesn’t fit the character of our neighborhood. We can’t keep putting enormous, four-story buildings in people’s backyards.”…