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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Bluff Park resident Richard Morse speaks at a meeting of the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 13, 2020, regarding a rezoning case for the old Smith dairy farm in Bluff Park. Morse said he didn't see a major problem with the developer's request to build up to 47 houses on 26.4 acres.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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A large crowd turned out for the Jan. 13, 2020, meeting of the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission. The commission voted 6-3 to recommend the City Council rezone 5.6 acres of the old Smith dairy farm in Bluff Park so a developer can get a few more homes on the property.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Hoover Councilman Mike Shaw, a member of the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission, speaks about a request to rezone 5.6 acres of the old Smith dairy farm in Bluff Park so a developer can get a few more homes on the property. The commission voted 6-3 in favor of the developer's request on Monday, Jan. 13, 2020.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Developer Lance Kitchesn of CK Enterprises, talks to the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission about his request to rezone 5.6 acres of the old Smith dairy farm in Bluff Park to make way for a new subdivision. The commission voted 6-3 to recommend the City Council approve his request, with the condition that the development not exceed 47 houses.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Hoover City Administrator Allan Rice, a member of the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission (center), speaks during a hearing about a request to rezone 5.6 acres of the old Smith dairy farm in Bluff Park so a developer can get a few more homes on the property. The commission voted 6-3 in favor of the developer's request, with the condition that the subdivision not exceed 47 houses.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Bluff Park resident Robin Schultz speaks to the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday, Jan. 13, 2020, about a developer's request to rezone 5.6 acres of the old Smith dairy farm in Bluff Park to make way for a new subdivision. The commission voted 6-3 in favor of the developer's request, with the condition that the subdivision not exceed 47 houses.
The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday night with a 6-3 vote recommended the City Council rezone 5.6 acres of the old Smith dairy farm in Bluff Park to allow a developer to get a few more homes on the property.
Developer Lance Kitchens of CK Enterprises originally asked the city to rezone 6.7 acres of the 26.4-acre tract he bought at auction in October to make way for a new subdivision with up to 50 homes.
After being met with strong opposition from nearby neighbors, Kitchens held two community meetings over the past two weeks and agreed to modify his request.
On Monday night, he agreed to leave the zoning for about an acre zoned as an E-2 estate district as is. Also, instead of rezoning 1.9 acres from an agricultural district to an R-1 single-family residential district (with minimum 15,000-square-foot lots), he asked the city to rezone that parcel as an E-2 district (with minimum 20,000-square-foot lots).
The end result would allow him to get up to 47 homes on the property, he said. Without any rezoning, Kitchens initially thought he could get only 36 homes on the 26.4 acres, but if he were to tear down an existing large house on the property and adjust the layout, he now believes he could get 43 houses built without any rezoning, he said.
So the rezoning, if approved by the Hoover City Council, likely would give him four more houses, he said. He needs those houses to get a reasonable return on his investment in the property, he said.
Some Bluff Park residents — and some planning commissioners — didn’t think Kitchens had compromised enough.
“I appreciate what you’ve done so far. I think you’ve done a really good job. I just don’t think you’ve come far enough," Planning Commission Chairman Mike Wood told Kitchens after listening to residents’ concerns.
Wood asked Kitchens to consider putting a cap of 43 houses on his development, but Kitchens stuck with his amended request. Planning Commissioner Sammy Harris made a motion to limit the development to 43 houses, but he failed to get anyone to second his motion.
That’s when Planning Commissioner Jennifer Peace recommended a cap of 47 houses. Her motion was approved on a 6-3 vote, with commissioners Mike Shaw, Sammy Harris and Allan Rice voting against it.
Peace said she didn’t think opponents would be happy with 43 homes either and did not feel like residents were being flexible enough. They were expecting the developer to make concessions but were not willing to make any themselves, she said.
She believes Kitchens has a right to develop his property, and she thinks his compromise plan is a better plan than leaving the zoning as is, she said. Right now, about 75 percent of the property is zoned as an R-1 residential district, but it’s split apart by a 3.7-acre agricultural district.
Having more consistent zoning throughout the development will make it better, Peace said.
After the 6-3 vote, many Bluff Park residents filed out of the meeting. Some said loudly “This is a sad day” and “Absolute disgrace.”
Outside the meeting room, resident Linda Butler said Kitchens knew how the land was zoned when he bought it and he should have had to live with it.
“All he’s looking at is dollars saved for him,” Butler said. “He’s not worried about the school. He’s not worried about traffic. He gets his money, and he walks away.”
Kitchens said it does matter to him how the development affects the community. His wife’s parents live right beside the property, and he wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt their property, he said.
He believes his subdivision will enhance property values because he expects the houses to sell in the $500,000s to $700,000s, he said. It will be a nice subdivision, with lighted sidewalks — the kind of place nearby residents likely will want to take their children for trick-or-treating on Halloween, he said.
His traffic consultant, Skipper Consulting, believes Savoy Street is sufficient to handle the extra traffic, and Acting City Engineer Chris Reeves agreed with that assessment.
He also is having to follow new, stricter stormwater regulations, which should protect nearby residents better than the rules for previous developments in Bluff Park, he said.
Bluff Park resident Robin Schultz said none of Kitchens’ changes do anything to address crowding at Bluff Park Elementary School. Some residents said they fear the school district may rezone more students away from Bluff Park Elementary to make room for ones that will come from Kitchens’ development.
Another resident said if the city approves Kitchens’ request, it also needs to provide money to expand the school.
Resident Eric Wadsworth said he doesn’t see the big deal about Kitchens’ request. “I feel like there’s a little bit of an overreaction,” Wadsworth said.
School officials can proceed with plans already drawn up for more classrooms, and if the school gets too crowded in the meantime, they can add portable classrooms on a temporary basis, he said.
Kitchens said that, even though the zoning board approved his compromise plan, he realizes there is still a long way to go to get final approval by the City Council.
In other business Monday night, the zoning board:
- Tabled a request to pre-zone 59 acres next to the Greystone community for a new 97-home subdivision until the Feb. 10 zoning board meeting.
- Tabled a request to approve preliminary plans for a 96-room hotel and 5,000-square-foot office building on 6.4 acres just west of the UAB Medical West emergency room off John Hawkins Parkway until Feb. 10. The plan also includes a road that would connect to a 264-unit apartment complex and 180-bed assisted living facility in unincorporated Jefferson County, but some city officials still have questions about how the development would impact traffic flow on John Hawkins Parkway.
- Approved preliminary plans for 33 residential lots in the third phase of the Flemming Farms subdivision in the Trace Crossings community.
- Approved a resurvey of the 82-lot 21st sector of the Lake Cyrus community to adjust some of the front building setbacks and make parts of certain lots a common area.
- Recommended the City Council allow the Central Alabama Artist Guild to block off streets in the Patton Creek shopping center for a Patton Creek Art Festival at 4445 Creekside Ave. on March 7.
- Recommended the City Council allow Church of the Hills to put a modular building on its property at 560 Lakecrest Drive for use as Sunday school classes.
- Recommended the City Council create a new “legacy single-family residential district” that would provide more flexibility in lot sizes and setbacks for more established areas of the city.
