Town House Community Not Approved
By Bob Steiner
At a meeting of the Edgewood Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday, December 22, a request to change a zone designation to allow the development of a town house community within current town boundaries, was defeated. The requested zone change from “R1 residential” to “multi-use”, would have permitted the erection of eight clusters of four town houses each on the Northwest corner of the the intersection of State Road 344 and Venus.
Tim Oden, representing the developer’s side of this issue, provided a very well thought out and informative one hour presentation on how this project could proceed. Much of his talk dealt with the “green” factors of the potential “enclave”, such as use of waste water and rainwater cisterns to irrigate the development’s common areas. While covenants and restrictions could be implemented, he also brought out (perhaps to his detriment?) that a “neighborhood association” would govern many aspects of day to day life there.
At least some twenty residents from the area were also present at the meeting. To a person, they were all opposed to the town house “invasion” and it seemed they all took the floor to state their feelings. They were very well organized and were able to express their viewpoints in a clear and cogitative manner. Most stressed that they were uncomfortable having such a population density increase in their area. As many had purchased their houses on large lots to avoid the crowded “urban” environment, they resented this attempt to introduce a change to their life style. In view of the sometimes heavy traffic in the area due to the close proximity of the school, many expressed concern regarding an increase of even more vehicles passing through the area. One lady mentioned that the available water supply in the area was barely adequate to support the present land owners and additional residents could seriously impact on their life style. One resident suggested that a change in the zoning designation could set a precedent and even open up the town to appartment-type dwellings.
Once the residents had completed their comments, Mr. Oden was given additional time to respond and he did so most eloquently. The citizenry speaking out against the project, however, had had an effect on the commission. The request for the zone change was voted down.
Mr. Oden does have the right to appeal this decision to the town council, should he so desire. In any event, it would appear that town houses are not welcome in Edgewood, at least not any time in the near future.
Writer’s Comment: The concept of town houses priced in the $180,000 to $220,000 range in Edgewood doesn’t seem to provide any realistic relief to the low income housing problem. Also, moving the location of the development North three of four miles to a less-developed area might be a good idea? Perhaps now might be the right time to “go back to the drawing board? “
2 Responses “Town House Community Not Approved”
Interesting. What was the rationale for turning it down? Was there something wrong with the plan that could have been fixed so it could be reconsidered, or was it just a flat-out denial based on not wanting that type of development at that location?
Liberty Square now has FREEDOM to go forward after subsequent action to the action covered above by Mr. Steiner.
Among other businesses contemplated at Liberty Square is a movie theater and a motel. There will be a round-about on SR 333 to handle traffic between Liberty Square I and Liberty Square II.
One P&Z commissioner expressed concern regarding the round-about, but his concern was alleviated after discussion by all commissioners present.
One citizen spoke in favor of the development, after which the commissioners voted unanimously to allow the project to go forward to the next phase.