CITY COUNCIL GIVES FINAL APPROVAL TO SENIOR CITIZENS HOUSING COMPLEX
The Brenham City Council gave the final go-ahead for a 76 unit senior housing complex, off North Market and Cottonwood Streets, near the First Baptist Church at today’s (Thursday’s) meeting but not before the developer answered numerous questions from city council members and the public.
The complex, proposed by developers Huntjon In corporated from Houston, had the Council’s approval to begin construction but the proposal did have get approval on a second reading. Two weeks ago, several residents in that area expressed concerns about traffic congestion and parking. There had been some slight changes from the original proposal, as well.
Deborah Pittman and Georgia Sowers said this area was already congested and building a three story apartment complex there would probably exacerbate the problem. City Council Members Mary Barnes Tilley and Gloria Nix echoed those concerns. Nix was also concerned about fire safety and how so many elderly residents could be safely evacuated in case of a fire.
Retired City Public Works Director Doug Baker expressed support for the complex, noting it was a close distance to two pharmacies , the Brenham Clinic and two parks.
Developer Marvalette Hunter, the primary designer of the project, told the Council that she was an architect who had planned many senior citizens communities, and they had never had problems with traffic or parking./
Ms. Hunter said Bluff View Villas, on the southern part of Brenham, also had 76 units and had no parking or traffic problems.
The Council voted unanimously to the special use permit. They also voted for a resolution for Huntjon to receive tax credits for building a senior citizens center.