The Jackson City Council sided with the Jackson Planning Board’s decision and denied a variance that the developer of a proposed fenced and gated community of six zero lot line homes on Douglass Drive sought.
Plans for the proposed $4 million Douglass Place development on Douglass Drive called for building six three-bedroom, three-bath homes, each of which would have a total of 3,200 square feet with two first-floor primary suites, high-end finishes and a two-car garage with storage space.
The developer sought the variance in order to provide effective drainage solutions for the property.
The owners and developers are “quite disappointed” in the council’s decision on Oct. 17 and evaluating if they will appeal it, said Bill Lee, a broker/associate with Overby Residential via email.
HRB Properties, LLC, a Mississippi company that is the developer, had the property under contract to purchase pending the zoning variance approval.
The development would produce more than $50,000 in additional tax revenue annually, which would benefit the city, Lee said.
The development failed to win the approval of some residents in the LOHO Homeowners Association.
A handful of residents from the LOHO Homeowners Association attended the planning board meeting on Aug. 24, but many more turned out for a meeting at River Hills Club several months ago to learn about the developer’s plans.
Water runoff from the development on to Pinewood Drive, which is east of the Douglass Drive location, was a concern, said Charles Waterloo, president of the association that includes 321 addresses and extends from the District at Eastover to Ridgewood Road and from Eastover Drive to Meadowbrook Road.
Access for emergency vehicles in and out of the gated development was also another concern of residents, he said.
There was also the thought that the development, which is being marketed to “working professionals, seniors, travelers, or any buyer looking for luxury and security without the exterior grounds maintenance of a traditional single-family home” doesn’t fit the character of the neighborhood, he said.
“We’re for development but at the same time it didn’t fit the character of what young families moving into LOHO are looking for,” Waterloo said. “It is more geared toward retirement.
“Kids riding bikes, mothers pushing strollers…that’s the type of community we’re trying to improve upon in LOHO. The prices of houses have shown it seems to have worked.”
Also at the Oct. 17 meeting, the council approved a request by Cody Cox and Molly West, owners of Urban Foxes at 826 North St., to rezone a .22-acre property located at 833 N. Jefferson St. from R-1 (Single Family Residential District) to NMU-1 (Neighborhood Mixed Use).
Changing the zoning would allow for low intensity commercial use, integrating with the pedestrian friendly neighborhood fabric continuing to develop in Belhaven Heights, according to the application for zoning action.
The council also amended a request from Luxe Homes to rezone vacant property at 5016 Old Canton Road, which is located at the corner of Old Canton Road and Ashley Drive, from R-1 A (Single Family Residential District) to R-2 (Single-Family Residential District) so a duplex could be built. The previous property owner had a special exemption for a commercial use.
The developer originally sought the rezoning for a two-unit townhouse development but has decided to build a duplex instead.
