Developer spells out options for new Bluff Park community on old Smith dairy farm

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The developer trying to build a new subdivision on part of the former Smith dairy farm in Bluff Park presented several options to a crowd of more than 100 people at Bluff Park Elementary School Tuesday night.

But he said today he hasn’t picked any particular plan to present as a substitute for the original plan he gave to the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission in December.

Instead, when he goes back to the Hoover zoning board on Monday, Jan. 13, “we’ll have the discussion and see where it goes,” developer Lance Kitchens said Wednesday afternoon.

Kitchens’ original request was to rezone 6.7 acres of a 26.4-acre tract to make way for a subdivision with up to 50 homes.

Specifically, he wanted to rezone about 5.7 acres from an agricultural district and 1 acre from an E-2 estate district to an R-1 single-family residential district. About 75 percent of the property already is zoned for R-1 residential use, and Kitchens said it would be good to have uniform zoning throughout the subdivision.

Numerous nearby residents objected to his plans, citing concerns about the number of homes, more traffic, stormwater drainage, and additional students for Hoover schools.

Kitchens on Tuesday night said he originally thought he could not afford to do the subdivision with the current zoning on the property because it would allow only 36 homes, and he needs more homes than that to recoup his planned investment.

However, if he were to tear down a large existing house on the property and put six houses on that part of the property instead of selling that parcel for someone to remodel the existing house, he believes he could get 43 houses built without any rezoning.

Another potential compromise would be rezone the agricultural property to an E-2 estate district, which requires lots of at least 20,000 square feet, and keep the existing estate zoning in place. That plan would give him 45 lots, he said.

A fourth option would be to swap the zoning of two of the parcels to put all the R-1 land together and move the agricultural zone to the north next to South Sherryln Drive. That would give him only 40 lots, but it also would lower his expense because he would not need to build as much roadway, he said.

A fifth option would be swap the zoning for those two parcels and tear down the big existing house on another parcel to make room for six more houses, for a total of 46 houses.

Kitchens told the crowd Tuesday night he was not committing to any of these options, but he wanted to put them on the table for consideration and discussion.

Several people commended Kitchens for trying to work with nearby residents and present other options, and one man said having estate zoning instead of R-1 zoning would help make the proposed community fit in better with the neighborhood. One neighbor, Chrissy Bushnell, said the community has to be open-minded about new development.

But many residents still voiced numerous concerns about additional traffic, stormwater runoff and the burden of additional children in Hoover schools, particularly Bluff Park Elementary.

Homes on some streets in Bluff Park were recently rezoned to Green Valley Elementary due to crowding at Bluff Park Elementary.

Kitchens said his traffic consultant, Skipper Consulting, determined that Savoy Street could handle the additional traffic that would be generated by his proposed neighborhood. The proposed entrance to the neighborhood would have an A traffic rating, which is the best possible rating, he said.

Additionally, he would have to abide by the city’s new, stricter stormwater regulations, he said. He would have to build a stormwater detention area to keep water from flowing off his property any faster than it already does, he said.

Robin Schultz, a leader in the Bluff Park community, said the biggest obstacle for Kitchens is the school situation. No matter which zoning and subdivision layout option is considered, they all will impact Bluff Park Elementary negatively, Schultz said.

Kitchens on Wednesday said the school situation is out of his hands. “Bluff Park Elementary is at maximum capacity today,” he said. “I didn’t cause that, and I can’t do anything about that.”

School officials have drawn up plans for adding eight classrooms at Bluff Park Elementary but delayed action on that after enrollment appeared to stabilize some.

Bob Lawry, coordinator of student services for the Hoover school system, told the Hoover zoning board in December that adding onto Bluff Park Elementary would be a three-year process.

Kitchens said he has come up with several options and said a question that remains is what city leaders want to see.

The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission meets Monday at the Hoover Senior Center. A work session begins at 4:30 p.m., and the action meeting and opportunity for public comment is at 5:30 p.m.

This story was updated at 2:33 p.m. on Jan. 9 after the time of the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission's Jan. 13 work session was moved up to 4:30 p.m.