A public charrette process designed to produce new streetscape and zoning plans for Eighth Street generated overwhelming support for a three-lane traffic design in May. But the zoning portion of the project appears headed down a bumpier road – resurrecting community debate over building heights, affordable housing and neighborhood character.

Consulting firm Farr Associates will host a public workshop tonight (Wednesday) from 7pm to 9pm at the Park Place Hotel dome to unveil a streetscape and cycle track plan for Eighth Street. The design reflects the input of some 200 charrette attendees in May, the majority of whom supported having three traffic lanes, two protected “cycle tracks,” pedestrian sidewalks/mid-block crossings, and green landscaping throughout the corridor.

But Farr Associates also plans to use tonight’s meeting to clarify residents’ feedback on development and zoning along Eighth Street – opinions that ranged wildly during the charrette process. While many attendees supported having buildings between four and five stories on Eighth – current zoning ranges between 45-95 feet, depending on the block and setback  – some preferred lower building heights and limited development. Another contigency supported establishing “gateway zones” near Woodmere and Boardman avenues, which could accommodate buildings up to 10 stories high. Those limited tall-building quadrants could be used to develop affordable housing, according to the consultants.

“People were all over the board – there was no clear consensus on what the building height should be,” says City Planning Director Russ Soyring. “So we didn’t want to rush it. We wanted to take a step back and have another meeting to focus directly on building character and size.”

The possibility of 10-story buildings – along with discussion about improving alleyways along Eighth Street to accommodate more traffic and realigning the intersection of Eighth, Woodmere and Railroad – spurred backlash from representatives of two neighborhood associations. In a June 23 letter to Soyring, Boardman Neighborhood President Elizabeth Whelan said she felt “blindsided” by the proposed changes, fearing overdevelopment would turn Eighth Street into a “concrete canyon.” Whelen said five residents had told her they would leave the neighborhood if the proposed policies were implemented.

“There are hundred-plus-year-old homes in this neighborhood, and they were purchased with a not unreasonable thought that one’s access to light and air would not be blocked by concrete,” Whelan wrote, “and one’s alley would (not) become a ‘street’ with increased traffic affecting one’s ability to exit one’s home.”

Amelia Hasenohrl of Slabtown Neighborhood Association encouraged members to attend tonight’s meeting to “speak out” on key issues she said included alley development and building heights. “The argument will probably be that to financially support affordable housing, the developers need 10-story buildings,” she wrote. “This is the same argument we saw on River West. It is simply NOT TRUE.”

Attorney Grant Parsons, who represented opponents of the proposed nine-story River West development on Pine Street, also wrote a letter to city officials encouraging them to allow Eighth Street to develop in an “organic” fashion through small and medium-sized developments, rather than permitting “land speculators to cash in” with tall buildings.

“(The corridor) doesn’t deserve to be treated as a dumping ground for out-of-place, out-sized, high-rise developers who will create large swaths of parking lots, light poles, and obliterative steel-and-brick outlines,” Parsons wrote.

Farr Associates told attendees in May that enhancing Eighth Street’s alleys would relieve some of the traffic congestion  – particularly during the upcoming 2018 street reconstruction – and provide better rear access to businesses. That could allow some front driveways to be eliminated on Eighth, improving traffic flow throughout the corridor. The tall buildings are envisioned to be permitted in limited zones at the bookends of the corridor, allowing for the construction of luxury top-floor units with views of Boardman Lake that could help subsidize affordable housing below.

Soyring says that building heights, zoning and land uses were always topics promoted as part of the charrette process, so “it shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone that we were discussing those.” But given the wide range of opinions from attendees so far on how Eighth Street should ultimately be developed, he hopes officials can get a clearer picture tonight of what the community is – or isn't – willing to accommodate.

“It’s critically important we get this right,” he says, “so that (the zoning plan) works well with the street design we’ve chosen.”