Elizabeth trustees reject Banner Street paired-homes reinstatement in 5-2 vote

The Elizabeth Board of Trustees voted 5-2 Aug. 11 to reject reinstating site-plan approval for the Banner Street Paired Homes project, leaving the approval void after the developer missed a required letter-of-credit deadline. Mayor Pro Tem Hutchins and Trustee Einspar voted for Resolution 26R23; the mayor and four trustees voted against it, the meeting transcript shows.

The project calls for six paired homes in three three-story buildings at 530, 540, 550, 560, 570 and 580 S. Banner St. Its Downtown District zoning remains in effect, but that zoning does not restore the site-plan approval, according to town project materials.

The original site plan and development agreement were approved in 2024. Banner Paired Homes LLC was required to provide an irrevocable letter of credit by Feb. 5, 2025. Missing that deadline made the approval null and void under the agreement, [the Community Development Department’s staff memorandum says](https://elizabethco.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetAttachmentFile(fileId=7700).

Staff recommended the amendment, which would have set Nov. 9, 2026, as a new deadline for the guarantee and barred construction or other site work until the town approved it. The proposed guarantee was $152,922.69, or 110% of a corrected $139,020.63 estimate for public improvements and landscaping. The original estimate was $400,254.63.

Staff said the original estimate included an extra zero in a right-of-way street calculation. A developer representative said the error involved 2,000 rather than 200 yards of concrete and affected the project’s budget calculations. The corrected estimate included $119,493.63 for public improvements and $19,527 for landscaping.

The amendment also would have extended the deadline to complete and seek acceptance of public improvements to Aug. 11, 2028. Those terms were proposed but were not adopted after the resolution failed.

Residents who spoke during public comment objected to the project’s density. One said the plan would put six homes on a block compared with two homes on neighboring blocks and called the paired homes effectively duplexes. “If three times that density is not high density, I don’t know what is,” the resident said.

Developer representatives said the corrected estimate made the project financially workable and that the design incorporated accommodations and community feedback. The meeting record does not identify the developer’s next step. It also does not establish a right to reconsideration or appeal; any new or revised application or development agreement would require additional town action.