Houston’s City Planning Commission approved a variance yesterday permitting a developer that plans to build a 4-story apartment building on the corner highlighted above not to extend Dunlop St. through the site, as otherwise required. Instead, plans call for the street to end at the south side of the complex, where it’ll be bounded by a new, 8-ft. tall fence.

The request first showed up on the commission’s agenda on April 26, at which time a couple of residents came forward to complain about the heavy traffic on nearby Karcher and Angelo streets — which northbound drivers use to avoid the light at the intersection of Link and Fulton. Extending Dunlop through the site, they argued, would clear up some of that congestion.

But a 60-ft.-wide swath of road like that would run over the garage, parking lot, pool, and dumpster area the developer plans to build at the center of the complex, as shown in the site plan below:

***

95% of the 80 units will be filled with families that make 60% of the area median income or less — the developer said in its application — many of which might benefit from the Graceland St. METRO Red Line station just east of the building on Fulton. Along that street, “enhanced landscaping, 6’ concrete sidewalks, lighting, park benches and other amenities,” are planned.

Map: Houston Planning Commission. Site plan: Mucasey & Associates Architects