By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



The Gardendale City Council voted Monday to deny a rezoning request that would have paved the way for a town house development.

Developers from Gardendale 50 LLC had planned to build 198 town houses between Gardendale Elementary School and the Magnolia Ridge subdivision. The homes were to be aimed at senior citizens and empty-nesters and feature amenities like a swimming pool, clubhouse and walking track.

However, the plans to rezone the property were met with unfavorable reviews at a planning and zoning board meeting last month and were sent to the council with an unfavorable recommendation.

The reasons why the plans were rejected at that meeting included concerns over increased traffic on Odum Road. The board also said the plans that developers turned in for the project differed from plans initially turned in to the inspections department.

The city council voted against the zoning measure on the same principles. Mayor Kenny Clemons said Tuesday that the differing plans were the main reason why the proposal was denied.

“You just can’t do that,” he said. “The plans the zoning board and council sees should be the same plans.”

During the council meeting, developer Randy Brooks said one set of plans were meant to be a visualization of how the finished product would look. However, Councilman Billy Flippo and Building Inspector Robert Ryant said both sets of plans didn’t include planned alleyways for rear parking.

Brooks said he thought all the questions on the plans had been answered and was disappointed by the council’s decision.

“We met all the requirements of R-T [residential town house] zoning,” he said. “The mayor told me he had no problem with town homes. But they just didn’t want townhomes on there.”

Clemons said the city didn’t have a problem with town home developments, but reiterated the need for developers to have all plans finalized. “We want that land to be developed,” he said.

Additionally, several residents from the Magnolia Ridge subdivision were in attendance at the meeting and voiced concerns over traffic, noise and the distance from the town house development from Magnolia Ridge.

Residents raised the question on why the property couldn’t be used for commercial use. Gary Travis, Brooks’ partner on the land, said developers don’t want that property for commercial use. He said the city has also not expressed an interest in purchasing the property. He also said residents may not realize that developing the property commercially may mean more traffic and noise for Magnolia Ridge residents.

“We’ve talked to everybody and nobody wants it,” he said. “There’s no road frontage.”

Travis said in the Feb. 6 issue of The North Jefferson News that the land grading for the proposed project would have allowed a new baseball field to be built on land owned by the Jefferson County Board of Education off of Bauers Lane. The dirt from the grading would have been used to fill in a shallow hole, enabling the field to be built.

Clemons said Travis’ offer to have the field built may have been an attractive offer for the council to pass the zoning, but there were no plans for the field submitted.

For now, Travis said the future of the 60 acres of property remains uncertain. The land is still currently zoned for R-1 [single family residential] and Travis said garden homes may still be a viable option for the property.