City to consider zoning plan for 1,527 acres, 1,150 houses in Blackridge

The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday night is scheduled to consider a rezoning request for 1,527 acres in southwest Hoover to accommodate about 1,150 new houses.

Developer and homebuilder Jonathan Belcher and a company called Riverwood Holdings are planning a 1,527-acre development called Blackridge that would extend south of Lake Wilborn, the 499-home development coming at the current end of Stadium Trace Parkway.

The rezoning request originally was scheduled to be heard in April but was postponed until May 9 as the property owners made revisions to their plans.

Development plans submitted to the city show the developers hope to build about 1,150 houses in Blackridge, which is 2,285 fewer houses than were originally allowed on the property, per annexation agreements from years ago. The annexation agreement allowed for 2.25 houses per acre, but the developers are agreeing to reduce the density.

However, the development request to be heard on May 9 would allow Belcher’s company, Signature Homes, to assign 1,285 of those “lost” houses to any other property owned by Signature Homes or its affiliates in the city of Hoover “with prior consent of the city.”

Belcher’s company called Blackridge Partners owns 704 of the acres in Blackridge, while 823 of the acres are owned by Riverwoods Holdings LLC, according to the rezoning request. Part of the property now is zoned for agricultural use, while another section is zoned for single-family residential use and a third piece is un-zoned. Blackridge Partners and Riverwoods Holdings are seeking to have the land zoned as a Planned Unit Development, or a PUD, which gives developers more discretion in development of the property.

A big topic of discussion at the April planning commission meeting was the extension of Stadium Trace Parkway.

For Lake Wilborn, Signature Homes plans to extend the parkway another 4,400 feet from its current ending to the CSX railroad tracks, city engineers told the commission.

However, the plan is for the road to become a two-lane street instead of the four-lane parkway that goes past Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

Riverchase resident Arnold Singer said he thinks the road ought to continue as a four-lane parkway, but City Engineer Rodney Long said a two-lane road should be capable of handling the 500 homes expected from Lake Wilborn and at least another 600 homes from Blackridge pretty easily. The general rule of thumb is that a typical residence will produce 10 trips per day, Long said.

However, Long told the commission that enough right of way is being left for the two-lane road to be expanded to a four-lane parkway if it is later determined that a four-lane road is needed. Taxpayers likely would have to pick up the cost of expansion to a four-lane, Long said.

Belcher said the traffic study he had done for Lake Wilborn indicated a two-lane road would be sufficient, but another traffic study will be done for the Blackridge property.

Belcher said he doesn’t know if Stadium Trace Parkway will ever be connected to Shelby County 52, also known as Morgan Road. He doesn’t own the property that connects with Morgan Road, he said.

Belcher said he hopes to start land development for Lake Wilborn in early to mid-May, and it should take eight to 10 months. “We’d like to start building houses by next spring,” he said.

If the Planning and Zoning Commission approves the zoning request for Blackridge on May 9, it will go to the City Council for final consideration. If the City Council approves it, Belcher said he will move forward immediately with preliminary plans for the first sector of Blackridge. If everything goes smoothly, it likely would be 2017 before home construction could begin in Blackridge, he said.

The Planning and Zoning Commission plans to hold its work session at 4 p.m. and an action meeting at 5:30 p.m. Both meetings are at the Hoover Municipal Center and are open to the public.