A major Boulder redevelopment project at the old hospital site near Broadway and Balsam Avenue is poised to move forward as the city continues to firm up details of the site design.

On Thursday evening, the City Council expressed its support for the latest phase of the work on the so-called Alpine-Balsam project, which is expected to create a new city government campus and more than 150 deed-restricted, permanently affordable housing units at 1100 Balsam Ave. and 1155 Alpine Ave.

In addition to government buildings and affordable housing, there will be 35 market-rate homes on-site, which will include 22 townhome-style units, plus 2,100 square feet of commercial space. The site plan also includes multi-use pathways, a 0.11-acre “pocket park,” new connector streets and a 2.02-acre greenway and flood channel, a presentation from city staffers stated.

But moving forward with the planned site design will require changes to city code and the Alpine-Balsam Area Plan. On Thursday, the council advanced an ordinance that would enable some of these changes. That ordinance is scheduled for a second reading and public hearing on Nov. 21.

For example, the ordinance would modify “trip reduction standards” in the Alpine-Balsam area. Currently, in certain zoning districts that fall within the project area, city code requires proposed developments to show they can generate at least a 55% reduction in single-occupant vehicle trips and encourage people to use alternative modes of transportation.

The 55% requirement was created for the Boulder Junction development area, which was designed to have rich transit connections, higher-density housing and other features such as managed parking and access districts. For the Alpine-Balsam project area, the city is instead targeting a 30% reduction in single-occupant vehicle trips. City staffers wrote in a memo that a 30% reduction would be more realistic for the Alpine-Balsam area but still help mitigate traffic and parking impacts from the project.The new Alpine-Balsam ordinance would also change the regulating plan map for the area to create a new, private-access 11th Street connection between Alpine and Balsam avenues. According to city staffers, making this connection a private drive would allow for special features including flexible loading zones, rideshare pick-up and drop-off areas, permeable pavers for stormwater management and raised pedestrian crossings.

Additionally, the ordinance would change the city’s land use code requirements for permanently affordable units funded by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, or LIHTC. If the ordinance is approved, LIHTC-funded permanently affordable housing projects will be exempt from the requirement in certain zoning districts for parking to be unbundled from other costs. Unbundled parking requirements may make it harder for these housing projects to receive LIHTC funding, according to staffers.

On Thursday evening, council members declined a chance to “call up,” or review, the Planning Board’s previous recommendations on the project. At a Sept. 24 meeting, Planning Board members unanimously approved form-based code and site review applications for the project. They also voted to recommend that the City Council approve the ordinance and amend the Alpine-Balsam Area Plan.

Mark McIntyre, a member of the Planning Board, told the Daily Camera he feels the project “fulfills a lot of community goals,” particularly around affordable housing.

“Different community members over time have tried to envision Alpine-Balsam as many different things, and I think this is a reasonable, good design. I think it’ll be an asset to the community. City offices will move there, and they’ll be able to get rid of some of these obsolete buildings in the floodplain,” he said. “… I think there are a lot of wins in this that the community should be proud of.”

However, a majority of the board rejected a use review application that included a proposal for removing some commercial space along Broadway. If this proposal had moved forward, two businesses, the Flower Pepper Chinese restaurant and a Premier Credit Union branch at the corner of Broadway and Alpine Avenue, would have been displaced to make room for several more parking spaces.