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A spirit that is not afraid

Council denies rezoning for office park at Hamilton Place

<p>Auburn City Council meets every first and third Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.&nbsp;</p>

Auburn City Council meets every first and third Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. 

During Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, the Council denied rezoning property on Moores Mill Road for a professional office park.

During the discussion, eight nearby residents asked that the Council vote in opposition, primarily citing traffic concerns. A traffic study was performed during the summer, but not before the pandemic began in March.

One resident questioned whether a deal had been previously made with the City, as the land’s previous owner stated that the current owners had plans for the property a year ago.

Property owner Jay Toland stated he believes a professional office park would be a relatively low-intensity use for the land, especially in comparison with retail space. The project has a no-compete agreement with the adjoining Publix.

Toland previously proposed to align the property driveway with the entrance to the neighborhood across the street, but the City deemed the adjustment unsafe in itself. He also proposed banning left turns from his property.

Brett Basquin, representative for PSM Holdings, told the Council that the Planning Commission deemed an office park a “logical step-down use” between a grocery store and single-family residential homes.

Ward 5 Council member Steven Dixon said he understands both sides. The proposed development is in Dixon’s ward.

Planning Director Forrest Cotten stated that the Planning Commission recommended denial of rezoning the property due to the future land use category of the land not allowing office space.

The Council voted in opposition in a 5-4 vote. Ward 2 Council member Kelley Griswold, Ward 6 Bob Parsons, Ward 1 Council member Connie Fitch-Taylor, Ward 8 Council member Tommy Dawson and Dixon voted in opposition.

“I put a lot of thought into this decision on Moores Mill Road,” Dawson said. “I sympathize with the developers, and it was a hard thing to do, but I can’t vote for something [that could cause] someone’s child getting hurt. I hope he comes up with something in the future to get something on his property. I feel bad for the developer.”

Dixon shared similar sentiments to Dawson.

“I was in a car accident when I was little, and [the traffic concern] spoke true to me,” Dixon said. “I am all for property rights, but I do think that safety is the number one priority.”

During his announcements, Mayor Ron Anders thanked those who worked to fix the damage caused by Tropical Storm Zeta.

“I want to thank our public safety, public works [and] all the people who woke up in the middle of the night last week after the tropical storm passed through last week,” Anders said. “There was a lot of great effort during the night and into the morning to clear trees out of the roads and to get utilities turned on.”

Auburn Student Government Association City Relations Manager Abby Ronson, sophomore in political science, told the Council that the SGA partnered with Lyft to give students rides to polling places.

The Council unanimously voted to reduce the maximum bed density in the University Neighborhood West student housing district from 255 beds per acre to 170 beds per acre.

The Council also unanimously voted to rezone 4.21 acres at 2449 Moores Mill Road from Rural to Limited Development District.

Anders denied unanimous consent, blocking the vote to establish “no parking” zones along Sanders Street. The City will talk with affected properties before the next meeting.

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Charlie Ramo | Content Editor

Charlie Ramo, junior in aerospace engineering, is the content editor of The Auburn Plainsman.

@byCharlieRamo


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