The commission is advisory only; I think in recent years the Clintonville area commission has become a bit more pro-development and not quite as backwards.
I think this proposed development represents the path of least resistance by the developer in terms of having no variances, not having to go before the area commission and therefore, not having public input, and not having to assemble the entire site and negotiate with multiple property owners.
The Clintonville NIMBYs had more of an impact on this development than the commission.