Collection finished
The owners of two connected lots on Burgess Gower Road (parcel 94.00) and Will Head Road (parcel 94.04) have requested rezoning from AG-2 with a minimum lot size of around 3 acres to R-80 with a miminum lot size of 1.84 acres. Together, these lots total almost 30 acres.
The owners have hired an engineering firm to survey the land, conduct soil testing, and locate water lines - as stated by their engineering representative at the Planning Commission meeting. This work had already been apparent due to the many flags throughout the property and holes dug in the dirt.
No site plan had been submitted to the county at the time of the Planning Commission meeting, and the engineering representative indicated the plan would be developed after rezoning was approved. Under the proposed rezoning, a site plan covering both lots and utilizing minimum lot sizes could reflect a development of 14 homes, pending results of soil testing and other considerations.
The Planning Commission approved the rezoning request for both lots to R-80 zoning after hearing concerns from neighboring residents at the public meeting. This is a preliminary step in the process and is nonbinding. The Robertson County Commission will meet on February 26, 2024, at 7:00 pm, and these rezoning requests will be included on their agenda. This Commission will make the final binding decision on the rezoning request at that time.
Reason
Community members shared multiple concerns around this rezoning request at the Planning Commission meeting.
- Both lots have road frontage on Will Head Road, which is a one lane, dead end road. Currently, there are seven houses on this road. Two vehicles can't pass on this road without one vehicle pulling over into the grass and ditch area and letting the other vehicle drive by. This infrastructure doesn't support increased residential density.
- If a subdivision access road is created on Burgess Gower Road to work around the infrastructure challenges on Will Head Road, neighbors have traffic and safety concerns. Funneling up to 14 homes through one entrance and exit would significantly change the character of a rural two lane road.
- There are soil concerns, specifically around water retention and run-off. During wet periods, a large pond forms on this property and remains for weeks. There are no avenues for this water to escape, so neighbors are concerned how this retention/run-off issue could be managed in a more dense residential setting.
- The owners of these properties don't have long term ties to the land. Their families didn't live or farm the land prior to it being acquired a few years ago. The community might feel differently if this was a farm owner trying to facilitate family members building homes on the farm.
Link to the petition
Debate
No CONTRA argument yet.
