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Council rejects contentious Edgewood Manor development

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Sydney Cromwell

Sydney Cromwell

Residents who have come out in force for months to oppose the Edgewood Manor development proposal, at Carr Avenue and "short" Saulter Road, won the day with a unanimous rejection of the plan by the City Council on July 23.

Jason Kessler and KADCO Homes' proposal to rezone property at 800-808 Saulter Road and 809 Carr Ave. from Neighborhood Preservation District to Planned Residential District, in order to construct a 12-home development called Edgewood Manor, has been unpopular with many residents since it was introduced to the Planning Commission in April.

Kessler came into the July 23 council meeting seeming to anticipate a "No" vote based on conversations with the city, he said. Eighteen others spoke in the public hearing, with 17 of them asking the council to deny the rezoning and development plan.

Residents have opposed the development for the potential size and density of the housing and the change in zoning, which would allow the Edgewood Manor development to avoid some of the restrictions of the NPD ordinances, including height and property setbacks.

Concerns about the development's impact on traffic, parking, stormwater runoff and school crowding have also come up in Planning Commission and City Council discussions. In June, Kessler presented an amended plan that would keep the PRD zoning but change parts of the plans to meet some NPD requirements, including side setback limits, roof heights, lot width and the addition of covenants preventing the development from becoming a gated community.

"We've done everything we feel like we can," Kessler said.

These amendments, however, had not swayed the opinions of residents who spoke tonight. They aired the same concerns as they had in previous meetings, including mention of the time spent refining NPD ordinances and the importance of not setting a precedent for other developers to try to get out of NPD restrictions.

Several nearby homeowners said a smaller development of four to five houses, similar in size to those existing, would be far more acceptable. Some noted the Broadway "triangle" housing development adjacent to the proposed Edgewood Manor site, as an example of new developments that "overwhelm" older houses by height and size.

There was some confusion among residents as they had heard the plan might be withdrawn. Ward 3 Representative Walter Jones confirmed he had shared this information with some residents after Kessler met with city officials about a possible alternate plan, but Kessler decided late Monday not to pursue the alternate option, and Jones said he did not have that information to share with residents before the meeting began.

A few of those at the public hearing described this as a "bait and switch," but Kessler said it was an attempt to find a plan more likely to get council and neighborhood approval, which did not work. He described the current development plan as a "struggle" to get approved.

Things got personal at a few points, as one resident said he found it "telling" that Kessler would choose to build his own house elsewhere in Homewood, to which Kessler replied that a variety of family factors drove that choice. Resident Ben McCullars, whose home would stay standing but become part of the proposed subdivision, said his support of the plan has caused neighbors to refuse to speak to him or confront him in his front yard about the project.

McCullars said he felt the need to defend himself and was worried about the effect of "mob mentality" on the council decision. He and Ward 3 Representative Patrick McClusky both stated that the "charm" of Homewood, referenced by many in the public hearing, was the people, not the homes. McClusky said later in the evening that he was "disappointed" by some of the reactions surrounding the issue.

However, McClusky and the other council members who spoke all shared the same concerns as residents about density, zoning rules, traffic and other potential problems. The council voted unanimously against the rezoning and the development plan, with Ward 2 Representative Andrew Wolverton absent.

Kessler said at the public hearing that he's not sure if he will try to submit a new development plan, but will build on the property in some way. He has previously shown the council an eight-home plan that fits within the NPD zoning regulations and has larger houses, but Kessler did not say if he would pursue this plan or another plan with a new zoning request. 

The council also delayed a vote on incentives for Milo's Tea Company, which is planning to move its administrative headquarters to a 26,000-square-foot office space at Lakeshore Plaza. Milo's came to the city with a number of tax abatement requests, but negotiation with city attorney Mike Kendrick over the weekend revised that list to five years of property tax, sales and use tax during the construction period being abated.

Bradley lawyer Trey Hill said Milo's is planning to leave production of tea at its Bessemer location, but needs additional space, prompting the move of about 49 existing employees to Homewood and a projected 36 new positions over five years. The payroll would generate an estimated business license fee revenue of $1 million over 10 years.

Hill also said the company is spending $1.8 million to renovate its new space. He and CFO Christy Thomas asked for the decision to be made tonight in order to move forward with signing the lease, but council members decided to send the issue to the finance committee for more discussion before a vote.

Ward 5 Representative Peter Wright strongly urged more consideration since most businesses coming to Homewood do not receive incentives.

Hill said the goal is to open in Homewood by the end of October, but their completion window extends through January 2019.

The council also:

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