Hoover council tables rezoning for 12 acres off Patton Chapel Road

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The Hoover City Council tonight tabled a vote on whether to zone 12 acres along Patton Chapel Road for a 42-house subdivision designed for people ages 55 and older.

However, the council voted to zone five adjoining acres along Old Columbiana Road for commercial use if the property is later annexed into the city.

Both pieces of property are owned by four sisters in the Douglas family. The sisters are selling the residential portion of the property to the D.R. Horton development company, which wants to build the Chapel Farms subdivision.

However, several council members said they had concerns about whether there are really enough amenities in the planned community that are specific to people ages 55 and older and whether anyone can truly enforce covenants that regulate who can live there.

D.R. Horton proposed the age restrictions after city officials expressed concern about annexing land for a subdivision that would put more children in Hoover schools.

Councilman Derrick Murphy tonight asked whether restricting residents by age violates the Fair Housing Act.

Kelly Fox, an attorney for D.R. Horton, told the council that there is an exception in federal law that allows for age restrictions.

D.R. Horton says it will put in the covenants that at least 80 percent of the houses in Chapel Farms must be owned by people ages 55 and older, Fox said. Also, no one under the age of 18 would be allowed to live in the houses permanently, she said. Visiting minors would be allowed for no more than 60 days, unless an exception is granted that extends the visit to 90 days, she said.

Councilman John Lyda asked who would enforce those covenants. Fox said the Chapel Farms Homeowners Association would be responsible for enforcing the covenants and said D.R. Horton would maintain control of the association until the development was built out. At that point, residents would take control of the association.

Lyda asked what would happen if the residents were not willing to enforce the covenants.

Alma Douglas Gaudette, one of the Douglas sisters, said she is a real estate agent and said people who buy into the concept of a community with age restrictions have an incentive to keep it that way.

Councilman Mike Shaw said he doesn’t think there are enough features in this community that make it specific to people ages 55 and older, such as a clubhouse, park, pool or a town hall with a bistro or dining room.

Hoover’s other 55+ community, Danberry at Inverness, has a lot of those amenities, Shaw said.

Rhett Loveman, a representative for D.R. Horton, said Danberry at Inverness is a much larger community with a lot more acreage, but this site has only 12 acres. Gaudette said this site is ideal for a 55+ community because of the close proximity of several city facilities, such as the Hoover Senior Center, Hoover Public Library and Hoover Recreation Center.

Councilman Curt Posey recommended the zoning case be tabled to give the council more time to try to work out something that would be more acceptable to them.

Council President Gene Smith noted part of the land the Douglas family just got zoned for commercial use includes a small pond. Perhaps a walking path could be put around the pond, he said. Councilman Casey Middlebrooks said one or two lots slated for houses could be repurposed for a clubhouse.

The council voted 4-2 to table the zoning case, with Smith, Posey, Middlebrooks and Murphy voting to table and Lyda and Shaw voting against tabling.

Lyda said if council members had more questions, they should have gone ahead and asked the questions tonight. All of the parties involved were present, and the landowners' representative (Gaudette) lives in North Carolina, he said. They deserve a decision yes or no, Lyda said. 

Posey said much more thought and many more meetings went into recent plans for the Trace Crossings community, and he thinks the council should take similar care to develop a good plan for this property.

“If we’re going to do a 55+ neighborhood, we need to do it right,” Posey said.

City Planner Mac Martin Jr., when asked, said the plans submitted for Chapel Farms meet all the minimum zoning requirements.

Loveman said the plan is to build 42 60-foot-wide lots on the 12 acres, which are currently zoned for garden homes, commercial and agricultural use in Jefferson County. The zoning being sought is consistent with uses surrounding the property, and D.R. Horton has agreed to put a 20-foot-wide buffer around the property, he said.

The Polo Trace and Green Valley subdivisions are to the west and north, while Hoover First United Methodist Church is to the east. A cemetery and property owned by two brothers in the Douglas family are to the south. At least part of the brothers’ property, which is also unincorporated, is also for sale.

Smith said he hopes the council can meet with the landowners and/or developer to see if they can work out a solution before the next council meeting on Aug. 7.

In other business tonight, the Hoover City Council:

  • Gave approval for Covenant Classical School to open a third Hoover location on Greystone Way in the Tattersall Park development off Alabama 119. The school expects to serve about 280 children there, representative John Labreche said.
  • Gave city retirees a one-time bonus equal to $24 for every year of service, with a minimum of $300. The total cost of the bonus to the city is estimated to be about $150,000.
  • Approved a budget amendment totaling $626,000, including $215,000 to be put toward a new heavy rescue unit for the Fire Department, $150,000 for the retiree bonus, $115,000 for unexpected expenses at the SEC Baseball Tournament such as rentals and extra security for the Finley Center, $114,500 for turnout gear and hazardous materials equipment for the Fire Department, and $20,000 to replace pipes in the Laurel View Estates community.
  • Entered an agreement with Shelby County by which the county will provide Hoover $28,500 to assist with school security expenses.
  • Agreed to charge the property owner at 2336 Regent Lane to cut the weeds and/or grass on the property due to a public nuisance and declared properties at 3442 Flintshire Drive, 4925 Paradise Lake Circle, 4929 Paradise Lake Circle and 3400 Loch Ridge Drive as public nuisances due to high weeds and/or grass.