Hearing on Proposed Apartments on 23rd Shows Limits in Comprehensive Plan

Tonight the Hearing Officer will deliberate on a site plan review, conditional use permit, and design review of a proposed 96-unit apartment complex located just south of Mission and 23rd.

Some thoughts on it are here.

The part I want to zero in on is a criterion in the Comprehensive Plan for the conditional use permit.

The idea that this location is good for walking and biking is ludicrous, but the way our plans and zoning are written, the mere fact of sidewalks and bike lanes necessarily implies these will support trips other than drive-alone car trips. This is not pedestrian oriented!

The particular criteria and interpretive standards by which we seek to instantiate higher level goals are incoherent with those higher level goals. The way Mission is currently built, and the way we are placing car-dependent development along it, will not provide anyone with meaningful alternatives to drive-alone trips.

After the Bike Plan update, there's work to do on the Comprehensive Plan and other zoning stuff.  (And there's got to be a way to make it simpler - this is so Byzantine!)

Update, July 19th

I don't know why I didn't think of this before - but Mission here is also a State Highway:

Notice the person on bike going opposite traffic (they're on the sidewalk, though, not in the bike lane) and the right-in, right-out treatments for 23rd, the cross street. There's really nothing multi-modal about this road. It's a highway.