ATHOL — The Athol City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to grant preliminary approval for a housing development that has sparked significant public comment.

Athol Grove is a proposed planned unit development (PUD) located in The Crossings at Athol subdivision, east of Super 1 Foods. The development would include 30 lots on a little more than 4 acres.

Coeur d’Alene-based builder Active West is the developer.

The City Council will consider the matter at 6 p.m. on March 1 at Athol City Hall.

Approximately 150 people attended a public hearing about Athol Grove on Feb. 15.

No residents spoke in favor of the development.

At the hearing, developer Dennis Cunningham said Athol Grove’s design grew out of research into the demographics of the area.

Active West’s research reportedly indicated that single people and women over the age of 65 make up a significant portion of the population.

“People want to downsize but there wasn’t a lot of opportunity inside Athol to do that,” he said. “That’s where we come in.”

The homes in Athol Grove use designs that appeal to seniors, he said, such as doorknobs that are easier for older adults to turn.

At the hearing, Councilwoman Jeanette Kramer said current home plans don’t match Active West’s pitch for a development that caters to seniors looking to downsize.

She noted plans for two-story units, as well as homes with up to four bedrooms and three bathrooms.

“When I first heard about this, I was told it would be for older people,” she said. “We have schools that will be impacted if you allow families in those units.”

Beth Washabaugh, who has lived in Athol for about six years, said she’s concerned by the project’s ambiguity. Originally slated to include 35 units, the PUD later shrank to a 30-unit subdivision.

She said it’s also unclear whether the development will be for people aged 55 and older.

“As it currently stands, nobody knows exactly what is proposed and what exactly (Active West) wants to do with this plot of land,” she said.

Active West did not respond to a request for comment.

City staff reportedly raised concerns about some elements of the plan, including snow removal and parking overflow.

Under the current design, each home would have enough space to park one vehicle in the garage and one in the driveway. The streets are too narrow for any street parking; emergency vehicles would not be able to get through.

City attorney Jason Wing said at last week’s meeting that the City Council cannot approve or deny an application arbitrarily.

The decision must be based on whether an application satisfies the requirements of Athol city code.

“A City Council member can’t approve an application or deny an application just because they want to,” Wing said. “It has to be based on the specific provisions of the code.”

If the City Council denies the application, Wing said, it must provide a list of the requirements the application failed to meet.

Several residents pointed to Athol Code 8-9-4, which states: “Residential PUDs may also be allowed in the commercial (C) zone, subject to the development standards of section 8-9-6B and in accordance with the requirements and procedures of this chapter.”

Section 8-9-6B states that the minimum lot size provisions of the residential zone are waived in a PUD, except to be used to determine PUD densities.

Though the City Council planned to vote on preliminary approval at the Feb. 15 meeting, council members said they didn’t have enough information about the project to make a decision and deferred the matter until March 1.