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Ashland townhouse project to add more studio rentals Wednesday Dec 13, 2017 at 5:10 PM Dec 13, 2017 at 6:29 PM By Tran Nguyen for the Mail Tribune A townhouse project on East Main Street in Ashland will add four more rental units at the urging of the city. The Ashland Planning Commission approved a proposal in July by KDA Homes for a townhouse project with 29 affordable units, including a single-family house, 19 three-bedroom units, seven one-bedroom units and two studio apartments on top of the townhouses. The 1.78-acre property, at 1068 E. Main St., is within the city’s multifamily residential zone and adjacent to Ashland High School. City staff approached KDA Homes after the initial proposal was approved with an idea of “duplicating” the proposed model of studio apartments to have four additional rental units. “We evaluated it. ... We would like to consider ourselves community developers,” said Mark Knox, KDA Homes co-founder. “We have been here a long time in Ashland … and so we want to move forward with modification.” The four rental units, each less than 500 square feet, would be ideal for college students and single occupants, said Laz Ayala of KDA Homes. “It’s not substantially different from what (the Commission) passed,” said Derek Severson, the city’s associate planner. The three-bedroom and one-bedroom units will be sold individually, while the rental units will be “accessory to the units below.” “The idea is to add more rental units to the market,” Ayala said. The modified proposal also asks for a permit to take down a tree that was initially planned for preservation, staff said. “The Tree Commission had asked that the applicant to preserve the tree — a good portion of that request was based on the applicant’s willingness to try,” staff said. “But looking at these details … the applicant indicated that the tree wouldn’t be able to survive.” Planning commissioners were in support of the amended proposal. Commissioner Troy Brown Jr. raised a concern regarding the proposed height of a 6-foot retaining wall at the corner of East Main Street and South Mountain Avenue. “For the cars that come on East Main, isn’t that a little high?” he asked at the meeting. “When the car stops behind the crosswalk, they can’t see past that.” Knox said KDA Homes had discussed the issue and will continue to work on it. The Planning Commission unanimously passed the modification. — Reach Ashland Daily Tidings reporter Tran Nguyen at 541-776-4485 or [email protected]. Follow her on twitter @nguyenntrann.