Plan gets first nod
By Rebekah Nicodemus
Staff Writer
The planning commission gave the Phenix City Downtown/Riverfront District plan a unanimous nod, with final approval pending Tuesday by the Phenix City Council.
Doug Faust, vice president of the Boulevard Group, presented the plan to the planning commission. Faust said the newest version of the plan, based on the group’s continued research and input given by Phenix City residents, had only slight changes to it.
“The planning concepts have not been changed,” he said. “We worked very, very hard to make this a consensus plan for Phenix City.”
Faust said the first part of redevelopment to actually happen is likely to be a hotel near Dillingham Street.
“We’re actively working on a hotel,” he said, although he said he was not able to disclose which hotel company or companies have been in discussion with the East Alabama Riverfront Development group (EARD.) Faust said the area near the 14th Street bridge, where Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Troy University have said they would like to locate campuses, is also likely to take off quickly. The success of this part of the city, he said, still rests on what is done with the Riverview apartments.
Sammy Howard, president of EARD, said that the next six months will be “critical” to the redevelopment of Phenix City’s downtown and riverfront.
The planning commission voted unanimously to recommend that the city council approve the plan. It will go to the city council at its next meeting for final approval.
The Phenix City Planning Commision voted Monday to recommend that the city council deny the proposed rezoning of 4.62 acres located at the intersection of 29th Street and First and Third avenues. The decision came after residents how live near the proposed development presented a petition to the planing commission, asking that the rezoning be denied.
The rezoning had been proposed by Foundation Development LLC, which owns the property. The developing firm has requested a rezoning from an R-1, or low-density residential, zone to an R-3, or high-density residential, zone. The firm presented the planning commission with a tentative plan for a development of townhouses near 29th Street last month, but a vote on the rezoning request was tabled until Monday, allowing developers to meet with residents.
Monday, a representative of Foundation Development emphasized the quality of his company’s proposed development in Phenix City.
“We’re proud of the quality of our work,” the representative said. “All I can do is assure you that at the end of the day we can come here and be proud to say ‘this is what we built.’”
According to information given to planning commission members by Foundation Development, the proposed development would include 35 two-bedroom townhouses with prices beginning at $119,000 and 17 three-bedroom homes with prices beginning at $139,000.
Initially, residents near the proposed development expressed concern that the townhouses would lower property values and increase crime rates in their neighborhood. The petition signed by 104 people presented to planning commission Dec. 27 reads, in part,
“The following residents object to this rezoning due to the fact this project will lead to the decrease of our property values. This area is full of homeowners who wish for their neighborhood to remain single family dwellings. Apartments would only invite crime drugs, unkept landscaping and traffic to our area.” Monday, the residents’ main arguments seemed to have changed. A new petition presented Jan. 24 gave a detailed explanation of issues that residents viewed as problems with the proposed development. According to the petition, construction of the townhouses would result in increased costs for Phenix City. The petition also states that the property in question is part of the Sherwood subdivision, and that residents of both the Sherwood subdivision and the Oak Meadows subdivision purchased their property “with an expectation that the single family residential status would be binding on all lots in each subdivision.” The final argument presented in the petition was that “there is no guarantee that the development will be completed as proposed.”
Before the planning commission voted on the rezoning, commission member Jay Coulter addressed the concerned residents in the audience. He said that he had given them his word that he would vote against the rezoning, and assured them that he would keep his word, but went on to tell them that development was inevitable.
“Development’s coming,” he said. “Something’s coming here—it’s desirable. Just understand that it’s coming. It’s not all that bad.”
The planning commission voted 6-3 against the rezoning. Jimmy Wetzel, Kelvin Redd, Gail Brantley, Jay Coulter, Barbara Goodwin and Craig Howard voted against the rezoning, and Jimmy Reese, Doug Newsome and Bobby Edwards voted for it.
The Phenix City Council will make the final decision on whether or not the property is rezoned.
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Contact Rebekah Nicodemus at rebekah@phenixcitizen.com