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Join your neighbors on Saturday, September 6, at 11 am on the sidewalk in front of 1526 Meade Avenue to protest another proposed block buster Complete Communities project in University Heights.
 

Garrett Reuter of MaxItOut ADU has applied for a building permit (PRJ-1132866) to demolish the existing single-family home, built in 1890 in the Queen Anne Free Classic style, and to replace it with a 5-story, 19-unit apartment building under the Complete Communities Housing Solutions (CCHS) program.

The previous owner sold the property to Mr. Reuter despite several offers from the neighbor to buy and restore the property, and despite letters to the current and previous owners from the University Heights Historical Society encouraging restoration of the front house and the addition of units behind. Many owners in University Heights have added units behind their older single-family homes as a gentle way to add density to the neighborhood with fewer impacts on the quality of life. 

With only ministerial review and without community input or notification, the CCHS program allows for the construction of multi-story buildings up to 8 floors without off-street parking within a Transit Priority Area (which includes virtually all Normal Heights, North Park, and University Heights) if the development includes the appropriate number of affordable units and has an underlying zoning of at least 20 dwelling units per acre. 

Several multi-story buildings in University Heights are either built or approved through the CCHS program, including a 5-story, 31-unit building at 4222 Georgia Street (built), an 8-story, 49-unit building at 4350 Cleveland Avenue (approved), and a 21-story, 195-unit building at 4002 Park Blvd. (approved). There are undoubtedly more such projects in the works, but it’s difficult to know because neither the community at large nor the Community Planning Groups are notified in advance.

The CCHS program is unsustainable and taking an increasing toll on our older neighborhoods with loss of historic resources and Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH), displacement of current residents, environmental impacts, added stress to inadequate, aging infrastructure, and reduced quality of life. 

The CCHS regulations were approved in December 2020 under the leadership of Mayor Kevin Faulconer and with the support of District 3 Councilmember Chris Ward. 

While the intent of the CCHS program is to increase the number of restricted affordable units, only 10% of the 1,131 units permitted in 2024 under the program were affordable to low and moderate-income households, and the vast majority are for rent, not for purchase. 

Since the City does not notify the community of CCHS projects or seek input through the Community Planning Groups, the community is left with few avenues for expressing their concerns. 

We will invite the media to our protest on September 6 so please attend and express your concerns about this project. We encourage people to bring their own posters protesting the Complete Communities. We will also have posters available for attendees with the following slogans:

• Complete Communities = Complete Chaos
• Complete Communities Will Completely Destroy Our Communities
• Complete Communities is an Incomplete Solution to Affordable Housing
• Complete Communities is the Completely Wrong Answer to Affordable Housing
• Complete Communities Creates Completely Unaffordable Apartments
• University Heights is Already a Complete Community!