Commission preview: Pinnacle 100%‑affordable project draws tree‑preservation and elevator concerns

City staff opened the pre‑agenda briefing by previewing a quasi‑judicial hearing on a Pinnacle Group project: two buildings across three parcels, one four stories and one five stories, proposed as 100% affordable housing. William, identified as the community sustainability director, said the applicant will ask the commission to waive the cityportion of the sustainable bonus payment because of the project's affordability and noted the developer already committed some funding toward an effort to preserve a mature tree.

Commissioners probed accessibility and tree‑preservation issues. Commissioner Sarah Maliga said the plan shows one elevator per building and urged the commission to consider additional elevator redundancy, recounting recent stories where an elevator outage left disabled tenants stranded. Staff said elevator minima are governed by the building code and that the project proposes a generator to serve elevators and accessible units concentrated on the first floor. Staff also reported the tree board reviewed the project on August 18 and "did not recommend approval," asking staff to update the written report to show the unanimous negative advisory vote. The commission instructed staff to make that correction before the formal hearing and to highlight the tree‑preservation commitments the applicant has made.