A proposal to bring a housing and commercial project near downtown Campbell and a light rail station is headed back to the drawing board after less-than-rave reviews from the city council.

At a Sept. 5 council meeting officials from Cresleigh Homes were directed by the council to revise its plan to add 59 condominiums and 8,292 square feet of commercial space along East Campbell Avenue, between Dillon and Gilman avenues.

The project would be built at the site of the former Paul Del Grande Auto Parts and Machine Shop on parcels located at 540, 558 and 566 E. Campbell Ave. and at 24 and 34 Dillon Ave. The site sits between downtown and the Pruneyard Shopping Center, near multiple light rail stations and Campbell Park.

In May 2016 Cresleigh Homes met with the council to get feedback on its proposal to construct a four-story building that would have condominiums on top and commercial uses on the ground floor with underground parking. Conceptual drawings showed rooftop garden terraces providing a view of the Campbell Water Tower, downtown and the park.

Council members and residents at the time opposed the project’s height and lack of public open space, and criticized its modern architectural design that did not match downtown’s aesthetics.

Cresleigh officials were back in front of the council on Sept. 5 to present their revised plan. Cresleigh this time around proposed a five-story mixed use building with a height of roughly 61-63½ feet and a clock tower standing 71½ feet high. The allowed height within the area is 45 feet, according to the staff report.

Despite the developers’ revisions, the council and residents still had similar comments as last year.

“This proposed revision is not much different from the original design we looked at last year,” said resident Susan Blake, adding that the developers should research the architecture located in downtown for design inspiration. “At the proposed height, the pedestrian’s view of the water tower will be blocked from the park and from street views.”

“I was hoping we’d see something way different,” said Councilwoman Susan Landry.

City staff has suggested that Cresleigh Homes reduce the building height so it matches others in the area. Deana Ellis, Cresleigh Homes’ vice president of land resources, said the company is working on a plan that would reduce square footage of the residential component to make the building smaller.

“Staff has been very persistent and consistent in their viewpoint about reducing floor area space. We have been very reluctant,” Ellis said.

Cresleigh Homes asked if the council could allow the height to exceed 45 feet to make more space for housing units, some of which could be reserved for affordable housing.

Cresleigh officials said the building will need to be taller as underground parking is likely no longer feasible. Andrew Lojo, principal geologist with Terraphase Engineering, said lead and hydrocarbon were found in the soil, a result of the former automotive operations on the project site. The soil contamination would make it difficult and expensive to build underground parking.

Lojo told the council that removing and relocating the contaminated soil would be costly to the developers, ranging from $400,000 to $1.2 million depending on the method used. He said it would be better for Cresliegh and more cost-effective to excavate the soil, stockpile it somewhere else and dig deeper during construction. Cleaner soil would then be moved to another local construction site, and the contaminated soil would then be placed deeper under the proposed building’s foundation than originally planned.

That plan would cost Cresleigh approximately $410,400, according to the staff report.

It is unclear when Cresleigh will next present an updated project in front of the council or a city commission.