Bach Homes argues High Pointe apartments near 620 South need no commercial; council tables appeal
September 30, 2025, 5:05 p.m. · City Administration Conference Room, 51 E. Main St.
In a special session, the council heard Bach Homes' appeal of the Development Review Committee's denial of the High Pointe preliminary plat in Phase 2 of Lake City Row, north of 620 South. Staff said the phase is designated mixed use and the 2019 annexation agreement requires 100 square feet of commercial per home across 1,058 entitled units, with commercial built ahead of more housing; Bach's attorneys said the requirement applies to the whole planned community and existing light-industrial buildings count. Bach said it builds only residential. The council tabled the appeal for further review.
From the approved minutes.
Decisions at a glance
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Bach Homes appeal of DRC denial, High Pointe preliminary plat (Lake City Row Phase 2) | Tabled · 5-0 |
Agenda, item by item
Item 1 · Development
Bach Homes appeal of DRC denial, High Pointe preliminary plat (Lake City Row Phase 2)
Tabled · 5-0
Development Services Director Patrick O'Brien said the area came in through the Vest annexation (2019 annexation agreement, 2021 rezoning and development agreement); 1,058 units are entitled; there is no code definition of mixed use, so staff used Urban Land Institute and master developer Buck Swaney's description of a town center with ground-floor retail. Light industrial or flex space does not count toward the commercial ratio. Bach counsel Amy Walker (Miller Harrison) and Stewart Harman said state law requires ambiguity to favor the applicant and the 100-square-foot-per-unit ratio applies to the whole project, citing the Woodbury (Pando, about 98,000 sq ft) and H3 Plastics (about 60,000 sq ft) buildings, and benchmarks tying commercial construction to residential build-out. Harman noted Phase 3 (Arza, Soul Haven, Walton Townhomes, nearly 1,000 units) and Elevate at 620 (338 units, Bach) have no commercial; High Pointe is the northwest part of Phase 2 and Bach also controls the northeast part, Summit. Applying the ratio per property would require nearly 60,000 sq ft of commercial for High Pointe and Summit.
- Entitled units: 1,058
- Ratio: 100 sq ft commercial per unit
- Elevate at 620: 338 units, no commercial