A Boone County planning subcommittee voted 3-2 on Aug. 24 to advance a 340-unit apartment complex proposed for the Florence-Union border.

The full Boone County Planning Commission will decide whether to approve the zone change Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. The narrow vote follows months of organized opposition. At an Aug. 5 public hearing, dozens of people packed the Boone County Administration Building to protest the proposal.

Blue Ash, Ohio-based Silverman & Co. wants to rezone nearly 33 acres near Old Union Road and U.S. 42, known locally as the "Witt and Streutke property." The parcels sit in unincorporated Boone County, and Florence plans to annex the land. The developer needs the zoning changed from a mix of rural, suburban and rural suburban estates to urban residential one/planned development.

Vice President Ryan Silverman told the subcommittee the complex would include several three- and four-story buildings with an 8,000-square-foot clubhouse, swimming pool, pickleball court, dog park and fire pits. The units would target working professionals and empty-nesters, LINK nky reported.

Traffic is the main concern raised by opponents. The development would funnel all traffic through a single entrance on Bowman Avenue. Union Mayor Larry Solomon told WCPO in July that the street cannot handle the load.

"They're only using one entrance and exit out of here onto Bowman Avenue or, you know, Bowman Way. It's not even an avenue. That street can't handle that traffic," Solomon said in a July 30 interview with WCPO.

According to Union City Commission caucus minutes from July 20, the project would add 611 parking spaces and could increase daily traffic on Bowman Avenue by 340 to 680 vehicles. About 100 cars use the street each day now.

The proposal has shrunk over time. Florence first approached Union in June 2024 with a 443-unit plan. That dropped to 398 units in 2025 and to 340 in 2026 after Union declined to allow access to its streets, according to the same caucus minutes.

Zone Change subcommittee Chairwoman Corrin Gulick, who voted to advance the project, still raised concerns at the Aug. 24 hearing. She questioned whether residents would cut through the neighboring Union Promenade shopping area rather than use the planned traffic signal.

Subcommittee members also questioned whether the developer's traffic study accounted for nearby growth, including the $170 million Union Promenade mixed-use development and Boone County Schools' new early childhood education center at 8825 U.S. 42. The apartment site and the education center sit less than a quarter mile apart.

Etta Reed, a traffic engineer at Fort Mitchell-based Bayer Becker representing the developer, told the subcommittee at the Aug. 24 hearing that school traffic and apartment traffic would not overlap significantly because residents would leave for work as students arrived.

A federal grant application to fund a Long Branch Road extension that would ease congestion on the corridor was denied, according to the July 20 Union caucus minutes. The subcommittee's recommendation includes conditions on design standards, setbacks, buffering and right-of-way for that potential road.

Florence City Administrator Joshua Hunt said traffic studies have been conducted and the city is working with Kentucky transportation officials, according to WCPO's July 30 report.

Residents can attend the Sept. 2 full commission meeting at 7 p.m. to weigh in before a final vote.