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Hoover zoning board recommends rezoning 62 acres for townhomes off Old Rocky Ridge Road

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Map provided by city of Hoover

The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission tonight recommended rezoning 62 acres along Old Rocky Ridge Road from mostly apartment zoning to accommodate a plan for 170 town houses.

The recommendation to the Hoover City Council came despite strenuous objections from people in nearby neighborhoods who said a town house development there will add too much traffic to an already stressed and treacherous road, overburden Hoover schools, eliminate wildlife, cause stormwater and environmental problems and hurt nearby property values.

Rhett Loveman, a representative for D.R. Horton, told the zoning commission that D.R. Horton bought the property in 2005 when it already was zoned for multi-family use. It sits off Old Rocky Ridge Road, south of Interstate 459 and east of Interstate 65. The company was looking to build 330 apartments on the site, but then the recession hit, so those plans were put on hold, Loveman said.

More recently, the company re-evaluated its options and instead of building the 330 apartments or selling to another apartment builder decided to pursue about 170 town houses, he said.

Numerous residents said they don’t want the apartments or the town houses. Ken Gann, who lives in the nearby Sky Range single-family subdivision, said one of the biggest concerns is traffic.

“We already have a problem with traffic along Old Rocky Ridge Road,” Gann said. “Driving along that road is treacherous, especially when it’s raining or on a Friday afternoon.”

Adding hundreds of more cars to the mix is only going to make things worse, especially considering there are two more new subdivisions already underway, he said.

Gann also questioned whether it will benefit the city of Hoover to have these town houses built and said he is concerned about the environmental impact of development on Little Shades Creek, a tributary to the Cahaba River.

Lisa Hollingsworth, another nearby resident, questioned whether the money Hoover will gain from additional property taxes from town homes would offset the costs of providing services to homes there and questioned whether there was enough room on the property to build an adequate access road to the townhomes.

Zoning board Chairman Mike Wood said questions about stormwater and roads would be properly addressed once D.R. Horton brought forth preliminary plans, not as part of zoning discussions.

Photo by Jon Anderson

The primary question for the zoning board is whether it’s better to use the land for 300 to 400 apartments or 170 townhomes, Wood said. Councilman Mike Shaw, who also sits on the zoning board, said it’s better to get 170 townhomes than 300 to 400 apartments.

Ron Dodson, an assistant superintendent for Hoover City Schools, said the school system also would prefer to get 170 townhomes over 330 apartments because it would mean fewer students to serve.

Technically, the zoning board is recommending rezoning 58.67 acres already in the Hoover city limits from multi-family zoning to town home zoning and zoning 3.62 acres currently in unincorporated Jefferson County for the same town home zoning if that land were to be annexed by the Hoover City Council.

The council’s Annexation Committee on March 1 voted in favor of recommending annexation of the 3.62 acres to the full council if that 3.62 acres were pre-zoned for townhomes. City Planner Mac Martin said city officials would rather consider the project all as one piece. Having part of the property in the city limits and part of it in unincorporated Jefferson County would lead to confusion if the development is approved and built, he said.

One woman in the audience tonight noted that Jefferson County previously denied a request for rezoning the 3.62 acres for single-family use. If Hoover were to vote against annexing that property, it might help stop the development because D.R. Horton needs that property to build the access road for the townhomes or apartments, she said.

Loveman said if the city chose not to approve the townhome plan, D.R. Horton likely would proceed with plans for apartments and seek permission from the county to build the access road.

Now, since the zoning board voted in favor of the townhome zoning tonight, the matter goes to the Hoover City Council for consideration.

In other business tonight, the Planning and Zoning Commission:

Map provided by city of Hoover.

Map provided by city of Hoover

Map provided by city of Hoover
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