Map provided by city of Hoover
Hoover Ridge Townhomes
D.R. Horton wants to build about 170 townhomes on 62 acres between Old Rocky Ridge Road and Interstate 459 in Hoover, Alabama.
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
Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission 4-9-18
Members of the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission meet in a work session prior to their April meeting at the Hoover Municipal Center in Hoover, Alabama, on Monday, April 9, 2018.
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:
- Approved preliminary plans for the 43-acre Stadium Trace Village shopping center planned along John Hawkins Parkway between Stadium Trace Parkway and Interstate 459.
- Approved preliminary plans for Abingdon, a 100-lot residential community on 56 acres in Trace Crossings along Stadium Trace Parkway, across from Flemming Parkway.
Map provided by city of Hoover.
Abingdon prelimary plans
Signature Homes plans to build 100 houses off Stadium Trace Parkway, across Flemming Parkway, in a sector of Trace Crossings to be called Abingdon.
- Approved preliminary plans for 92 residential lots in the fourth phase of Lake Wilborn on 24 acres in the Trace Crossings community.
Map provided by city of Hoover
Lake Wilborn Phase 4
Signature Homes plans to build 92 houses in the fourth phase of the Lake Wilborn subdivision in the Trace Crossings community in Hoover, Alabama.
- Approved final plans for a resurvey of two lots in the Valleydale Commercial Park along Valleydale Road between Jefferson State Community College and the Sherwin Williams paint store to allow an expansion of the Bob’s Power Equipment business.
Map provided by city of Hoover
Valleydale Commercial Park resurvey 4-9-18
The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday, April 9, 2018, approved a resurvey of phase one of the Valleydale Commercial Park off Valleydale Road between the Jefferson State Community College campus and the Keller Williams real estate office.
- Recommended approval of a special events alcohol license for a crawfish boil to be put on by Jubilee Joe’s on May 12 on a vacant lot in the The Shoppes of Hoover near the Sprouts grocery store.
- Delayed consideration of a zoning plan for 63 acres of the Tattersall Park property off Alabama 119 between U.S. 280 and Greystone Way, at the request of the developer, Ebsco Industries.
- Delayed consideration of an amendment to the zoning ordinance that would remove the requirement for first-floor commercial space in multi-story mixed-use developments on less than 75 acres. Some residents said they believe the change will enable the development of unwanted apartments in Tattersall Park, so City Administrator Allan Rice recommended delaying action to allow time for the Tattersall Park zoning plan to be considered first.
- Delayed consideration of a request to divide eight lots at 1540 Holly Road into two lots. The property, off Alford Avenue, is zoned as a single-family district.