Fayetteville Planning and Zoning commissioners, like their counterparts in other jurisdictions, are charged with following guidelines on matters of rezoning and the development of property. Yet an Aug. 26 vote on a rezoning request involving a sitting city councilman appeared to run counter to the guidelines customarily used to recommend a project’s approval or denial.
At issue with this particular project was the rezoning request from .75-acre lots to .5-acre lots on 60 acres along Redwine Road owned by the Councilman Paul Oddo, Fayette County Commissioner Chuck Oddo and their brother Warren.
Several residents from two neighboring subdivisions attending the meeting expressed concerns on issues such as stormwater runoff and increased traffic in the area.
Of note are the three stormwater retention ponds on the proposal where none exist today. Stormwater issues, as Chairman Sarah Murphy noted prior to the vote, are addressed by planning commissioners during the development phase of the project if the rezoning request is approved by the council.
Commenting on the proposal, Commissioner Bill Talley said the 60-acre site is already zoned R-30, adding that “They can build tomorrow if they want. So we’re not going to stop a subdivision.”
Talley concluded his brief remarks saying that he wanted more information on stormwater issues before he could vote on the proposal.
Commissioner Derryll Anderson commented favorably on the lower density in the current proposal, 77 homes instead of the 84 homes approved under the R-30 zoning.
Commissioner Mike Menchinger noted that R-22 zoning could result in a maximum of 120 homes on a 60-acre site. That issue had been previously addressed by city Community Development Director Brian Wismer who recommended placing a 77-home limit on the subdivision as the developer had proposed.
The brief discussion was followed by a motion from Talley to recommend to the City Council that the rezoning request be denied. Anderson seconded the motion and, with no further discussion, Talley, Menchinger and Anderson voted to deny. Commissioners Debi Renfroe and Ken Collins opposed.
The vote was taken and the request will go to the City Council for hearings on Sept. 4 and 18.
Conditions to be considered for all rezoning requests include compliance with the zoning ordinance and the city comprehensive plan and future land use map along with a number of questions addressing issues such as compatibility with neighboring areas, illogically-drawn boundaries, reasonable use of the property and reasonable economic use.
Wismer in the staff report on the request indicated that all conditions for a rezoning had been met.
Wismer in the section of the report addressed the stormwater question, “Are there existing or changing conditions affecting the use or development of the property which give supporting grounds for either approval or disapproval of the zoning proposal?”
“The existing and natural topography presents some challenges to develop within the entire property, however it is not significant enough to be a factor for consideration of the rezoning proposal,” Wismer said.
Yet when the vote came there was no clear reason, aside from the prior brief statements from three commissioners, why the request was recommended for denial.
Owned by the Oddo family since 1971, the property was zoned R-30 in 2007 and permitted for 84 homes.
