Gray City Council members once again said no to housing needs of families with the denial of an upscale development by a local developer who has a track record of quality construction and working with the city.
Gray Mayor Ed Barbee called the March 4 meeting to order.
The first item on the agenda was Old Business, which was the second reading of an ordinance clarifying the closing time for breweries located within city limits. Mayor Pro Tem James Collins made the motion to approve the second reading and adopt the ordinance, and the motion was approved unanimously.
Public hearing
At the conclusion of Old Business, the meeting was adjourned to go into a public hearing for planning and zoning items.
The first item was a request by Cedar Creek Land and Development to rezone property at the corner of Allen Greene Road from R-1A, single family residential, to R-3, multi-family housing. Developer Scott Jackson distributed plans for the development that consisted of 30-35 townhome units that would rent for from $1,500 to $1,650 per month.
Jackson said the townhomes would be similar to the units he constructed at Woodland Springs.
The developer was the only voice at the meeting in support of the development. The opposition consisted of residents of The Pines, located on the other side of Highway 18 East, and other nearby subdivisions.
Councilman Terry Favors asked Zoning Officer Tim Pitrowski what else would be allowed in the R-3 zoning. Pitrowski said professional offices.
Favors also asked if the deal with Jackson about the placement of the city’s new water well on the property was complete, and City Attorney John Newberry said it was.
Additional traffic on the highway that also serves elementary and middle schools was the primary objection to the development, and speaker after speaker expressed those concerns. One of those opposing the townhomes also had concerns about the people living in the townhomes being renters rather than owning the homes. Possible drainage issues and the influx of trick or treaters to the Pines on Halloween was also used to indicate possible problems to the neighborhood with the new development.
The development’s benefits to the city, including the increase in the city’s tax digest and the new water customers to help pay the cost of the city’s new wastewater treatment plant, were not discussed.
Barbee urged the complainants to only speak if they had something additional to add, and at the conclusion of the remarks, Collins asked for a show of hands for those opposed. The majority of the audience members raised their hands.
Item D of P&Z items was the plat approval for a development named Windsong of Natures Walk that previously approved in 2009 and had been dormant since. Favors said, because of the time since its approval, he would like the item to go back to committee.
Newberry said the item could be tabled when the meeting went back into session.
Back to the agenda
The hearing was adjourned, and the mayor called the council meeting back to order. Favors made the motion to deny the rezoning request to allow the townhomes, and the vote to deny was unanimous.
Collins made the motion to approve Item B, which was to amend the city’s ordinance to allow breweries in the city as a conditional use. That motion was approved unanimously.
The third item was about a permitted use for breweries. It was originally approved but later rescinded after Newberry explained the previous approval of a conditional use for breweries removed the need for the permitted use.
Favors made the motion to table the plat for Windsong at Nature’s Walk, and the motion was approved unanimously.
The next four agenda items, resolutions to supplement the city budget for contributions to the Gray Police Department, municipal court budget overages and postage machine rental were unanimously approved.
Reports
Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce and Keep Jones Beautiful Director Hailey Robinson spoke to council members about projects. She talked about a new gardening program with pre-K youngsters, called Sprouts, and finalizing the annual cleanup day.
Robinson said Keep Jones Beautiful purchased equipment for the Greenhounds for their recycling program, and they were in the process of revamping the Adopt-a-Spot program. She said they are working on a grant for pollinator gardens and looking into adopting a tree for Jones County and Gray.
Main Street Gray Director Ashley Robinson announced Gray’s Spring Festival would take place April 13, and 60 vendors had already signed up. She said the festival would include food trucks on Atlanta Road and an evening concert in the parking lot of Butler Hall.
The meeting was adjourned at the conclusion of the reports.
