SEASIDE — The City Council will allow developers of an affordable housing project near the old Seaside High School to move forward with construction despite local controversy over the location.

Pacifica Apartments, located on the approximately 2-acre North 40 property between N. Holladay Drive and U.S. Highway 101, will hold 69 units and 79 off-street parking spaces.

The project, headed by Stefanie Kondor of the Portland-based development firm Related Northwest, will sit on land given to the city in 2022 by Clatsop County as part of an effort to use surplus land for housing, child care or social services.

But after the Planning Commission approved a highway overlay zone review for the project in April, some neighbors strongly objected to the decision and to the location of the four-building development as a whole.

A highway overlay zone applies additional zoning regulations to an area along a highway — in this case, Kondor aimed to ensure regular access to the complex through N. Holladay Drive in an effort to reduce the amount of traffic using Highway 101 as an access point.

An appeal to the Planning Commission’s decision was filed by resident Linda Martin and a public hearing over the issue was held at a City Council meeting Monday. Several neighbors spoke passionately against the project’s location, citing concerns over the development’s proximity to their neighborhoods and potential traffic congestion brought on by new residents.

“There are much better sites than this small parcel of land nestled next to commercial fueling stations and other industrial businesses, not to mention ruining a special neighborhood with all the increased traffic and high density of units in a current green space,” Martin told councilors.

Residents also said they were worried about the development’s location in a tsunami zone as well as tsunami evacuation routes becoming clogged by new residents — the designated route for N. Holladay and Venice Park neighborhoods is U.S. Highway 101 towards Lewis & Clark Road.

Andy Kipp, the president of the Astoria Housing Alliance, expressed his support for the project and said that the arguments presented by appellants were unsubstantiated.

“The appellant cited objections such as blocked views, lowered property values, increased traffic are either immaterial to the review criteria or lack supporting data justifying the claims,” he said.

Kipp also pointed to a recent study showing that over half of Seaside renters are cost-burdened, and referred to the development as “vital.” The property will have preference housing for those currently living and working in Seaside — 38% of the city’s workforce commutes from out of town.

Along with 10 other developments statewide, the project has been awarded $14.6 million in funding by the Oregon Housing and Community Services through the General Housing Account Program.

“We don’t make a lot of money on these projects,” Kondor told councilors. “I was born in Astoria; I grew up in Seaside. I see this as a project to bring back housing that’s critically needed. So I really appreciate your support.”

Council President Seth Morrisey moved to uphold the Planning Commission’s approval of the highway overlay zone review for the property, and added a condition that an application be submitted to the Oregon Department of Transportation for additional opportunities for access through U.S. Highway 101.

The approval was unanimously upheld by the council.

“When I was appointed to the council, my focus at that time was housing,” said Mayor Steve Wright. “When I ran for mayor, my focus was housing. So there should be no surprise that I am going to push for housing wherever we can do it.

“And we’ve made some progress over the years in getting, you know, some pretty unique things into town. And I look at this as one more step along the way. We need this for our residents, for our business people, to be able to stay here in Seaside and not have to leave.”