Letter from City of Richmond Planner regarding proposed Libbie & Grove development

In a July 5 letter to Scott Boyers regarding his Special Use Permit application for the proposed four-story development at Libbie and Grove, City of Richmond Senior Planner Tom Phan expresses support for the concept of mixed-use commercial and multifamily residential construction on the property, but strongly recommends that the height of the proposed development be reduced:

“At the currently proposed height [53 feet], the building would be substantially larger in scale than existing buildings in the area. As a result staff finds that scale of the proposed building would be incompatible with the existing pattern of development in the area and its construction would represent a fundamental change to the character of the Libbie-Grove shopping district.”

The entire document, and additional documents on the topic, can be found here. They were received from Jon Baliles.