At the moment, it seems slightly ironic that the owner of Fulton Hill Properties is named Margaret Freund. The last name means "friend" in German. But the developer has risen to the top of a lot of enemy lists around Church Hill, many of whose residents strenuously object to the Oakwood Heights project just approved by Richmond City Council over the objections of the Commission of Architectural Review.
The neighbors' objections are primarily aesthetic. They consider the condo project insufficiently gracile, and not in keeping with the character of the neighborhood. In some respects we might incline to agree. But that objection does not override the more salient issue at hand: The project is permitted under existing zoning, which has called for multi-family use of the site for several decades.
Neighbors have complained that the developer did not give sufficent consideration to their demands. After the City Council vote, some pledged to pursue the issue in court. Before doing so, they might want to reflect on this consideration: Why should their mere aesthetic displeasure give them veto power over someone else's property rights?
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