Dunwoody City Council has delayed consideration of a townhome project at Dunwoody Village so the city can come up with a definition of “senior housing” in the area, council members say.

Cypress Communities LLC wants to build 81 townhomes at Dunwoody Village. But council members said during their June 8 meeting that the developer’s plans didn’t seem to fit with the city’s desire to have housing for older residents.

“The developer stood in front of us at the last meeting and when we asked about a master bedroom and bath combo on the first floor, he said, ‘No, that would not happen,’” Councilman Denis Shortal said. “That throws a red flag.”

Shortal said he talked with an elderly neighbor who said he thought an appropriate townhome would have a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen on a single floor and he doesn’t want to have deal with an elevator.

The council voted 4-2 to deny a request to change the city’s land use plan to allow the townhomes. The council then voted to defer the rezoning request to allow city officials time to develop a definition of “senior housing.”

Cypress Communities’ plan called for three-story townhomes with up to three bedrooms.

Shortal said he didn’t understand how a study by DeKalb County Schools anticipated only eight students coming from the 81 units. “I don’t know,” Shortal said. “Maybe I just came in from the University of Mars and I didn’t understand that one.”

Councilman Terry Nall said a 2-acre property at 1536 Dunwoody Village Parkway was a piece of a larger parcel that had been divided when adjacent buildings were sold. Nall and Councilman Doug Thompson voted in favor of amending the land use plan for that parcel, saying it should be used for housing, not offices.

“The 1536 parcel is an orphan piece of property that has less than the minimum street frontage that’s needed,” Nall said. “What we should do at the very least is amend our land map to say that this parcel and the other parcel with the three buildings should be redeveloped together.”

Assistant City Attorney Cecil McLendon said if council members approved the land use amendment as proposed by the developer, then those opposed to the request to rezone part of the same area would need specific reasons why the rezoning shouldn’t be allowed.