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Hoover council rezones Hare Farm in Bluff Park to allow for event venue

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Photo from Hare Farm website

The Hoover City Council on Tuesday night rezoned the Hare Farm in Bluff Park from an R-1 residential zone to a planned residential district to be used primarily as an event venue.

David and Teresa Hare purchased nearly 9 acres of the former Smith Farm at 613 Sanders Road and 2421 Savoy St. in 2019 with hopes of preserving the picturesque farm scenery.

Their plan is to use the property, which currently includes a house, barn, pond, expansive grassy areas and some trees, for public events such as the Bluff Park Christmas Fair, a seasonal pumpkin patch and marketplace events, as well as private events such as weddings, corporate parties and birthday parties, Hare has said.

Hare said the barn will be a key part of the venue, but he also plans to build an open-air pavilion and 20-by-40-foot meeting room on the site as well. Eventually, he may want to build himself a new home on the property as well, and that’s one reason he wanted the planned residential district zoning, he said.

He also may one day seek to build additional homes, but the zoning plan approved by the City Council Monday night limits the property to two residences. Hare told the city’s zoning board last month that what he has in mind is roughly 1,200-square-foot homes and said the planned residential district zoning would allow up to four houses per acre. It could be difficult to provide all the required amenities for additional homes, such as an entrance road and septic system, but he still is considering it, he said.

If he decides to go that route, he would have to come back to the city to seek approval to amend the master plan for the site to allow additional homes.

The current master plan includes a paved parking area for 68 vehicles, plus overflow parking areas on pervious surfaces such as gravel or grass. One condition for the rezoning is that Hare come up with an overflow parking plan that meets the satisfaction of the city engineer.

Bluff Park resident Judy Morton told the council she loves what Hare is trying to do with the property but is concerned that adding a paved parking area there will worsen long-term water runoff problems in the area. She would prefer to see a permeable parking surface that allows water to seep into the ground rather than an asphalt parking lot, she said.

Hare told the zoning board last month he wanted to limit the amount of pavement on the property so as to maintain the natural beauty of the farm.

City Planner Mac Martin said city staff tried to minimize the amount of paved parking but, in an effort to meet city regulations, wanted to see enough paved parking to handle the type of crowd that would be using the barn, the largest structure on the property.

The City council also approve a “conditional use” plan that includes limitations on outdoor music. Any amplified outdoor music would have to end by 9 p.m., and all outdoor music would have to end by 10 p.m.

Sheree Beavers, another nearby resident, said she was concerned that the event venue would worsen traffic in the area, which already is terrible on South Sanders Road. She would like to see more police enforcement of speeding laws and perhaps have police direct traffic during events.

Richard Caudle, a traffic engineer hired by Hare, indicated in a letter that Hare’s facility likely would generate an increase of 150 vehicles a day on a typical weekday or 300 vehicles per hour on a Saturday but would not result in any capacity deficiency on Sanders Road or Savoy Street.

“This would probably represent less than a 10% increase in traffic on a typical weekday but could represent a 30% increase in traffic on a Saturday,” Caudle wrote. “Once again, this increase in traffic, particularly on a Saturday, is likely to be highly objectional to the residents on Sanders Road and Savoy Street.”

Bluff Park resident Robin Schultz spoke in favor of the rezoning, saying Hare has made a commitment to be “pro neighborhood” and environmentally friendly with his development.

Hare said the whole reason he bought the property is to maintain the character of the neighborhood and the green spaces. “It gives families a place to go and they can walk — a place we can all enjoy,” he said.

The Hoover City Council also on Tuesday:

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