The Outer Sunset could still end up with a very tall, somewhat out-of-scale new residential development on the site of Sloat Garden Center, where a previous developer had proposed an insanely tall, 50-story tower.

The new proposal comes from a new development team which is seeking accelerated approvals from the city under AB2011, the state's new law that mandates streamlined permitting, height bonuses, and relaxed density limits for code-compliant projects with a certain number of affordable units.

The development, as the Chronicle reported Tuesday, is proposed as 446 units, with the tallest section of the building being 22 stories, facing Sloat Boulevard.

The unit mix would be 94 studios, 173 one-bedroom units, 120 two-bedroom units, and 59 three-bedroom units, and would include a total of 207 affordable senior rental apartments. The remaining 239 units would be for-sale market-rate condos.

The plan includes a stepped massing that brings the complex down to six stories on its north side, at Wawona Street.

Project architect SCB has created a handsome design incorporating live planted terraces.

That 22-story side might prove contentious, but once the development team submits its massing plan, the Planning Department will have just 180 days to sign off the project, and will be obligated to do so if there aren't code issues. A code compliance review will take 90 days.

Project architect Strachan Forgan, a principal with SCB, tells the Chronicle, "Sloat is obviously the bigger boulevard and feels like it’s the more appropriate location for height. We wanted to terrace it down to meet the neighborhood." Forgan notes that developer Dan Jimenez has head the pushback from the neighborhood about very tall buildings, and wanted to make sure that this was not a 22-story box.

The only comment we have from Planning comes from department Chief of Staff Dan Sider, who tells the Chronicle, "We have always thought the site has been a great location for new housing. We are hopeful to see a thoughtful project here that follows the rules."

The earlier, 50-story proposal, which had seemed designed just to push the city's buttons, was rescinded back in May.

Previously: Predictably, That 50-Story Skyscraper In the Sunset Is Not Happening