Zoning requests

Bill Robinson
Register News Writer

January 17, 2008 08:39 am

— The Richmond Planning and Zoning Commission will conduct public hearings at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday on zoning requests to allow construction of apartments off Jacks Creek Road, a mixture of business and residential structures on Red House Road and highway businesses on Duncannon Lane.
The commission previewed the requests at a work session Tuesday evening.
Rondall Durham of Golden Leaf Farms seeks to have 178 acres on Duncannon Lane rezoned from I-2 (Industrial Park) to B-3 (Highway Business).
Most of the property lies on the south side of Duncannon Lane adjacent to the RAPT manufacturing plant. However, a small portion of the property lies across Duncannon Lane on both sides of the entrance to The Pavilion at Golden Leaf next to P K Tool.
The property is about three-quarters of a mile from Berea Road and 2.5 miles from Exit 83 of Interstate 75.
The land is idle, and the owner has little prospect of selling it for industrial use, said Durham’s attorney Mike Eaves.
The city of Richmond, which still has 15 unsold acres in its nearby industrial park, has purchased 200 acres of new industrial park land in recent years, he said.
“That’s a lot of B-3,” Commission Chair David Rush, whose comment was echoed by Commissioner Michael Fore.
Thomas Clouse III seeks to have 13.6 acres off Jacks Creek Road between Goggins Land and Lexington Road annexed into the city and zoned R-3 (Multi-Family Residential). The property, which the county has zoned UC-7 (Urban-Agricultural), is surrounded by land zoned for agriculture or single-family residences.
“How are we doing with apartments?” Commissioner Neen Wiggins asked after Eaves presented Clouse’s proposal.
When Richmond lifted a moratorium on apartment construction less than two years ago, the city commission asked that planners maintain a balance of apartments, duplexes and single-family residences, she said.
“We have approved a lot of apartments,” Rush said.
Earlier in the meeting, the commission had previewed without objections a development plan from Pat Sowers for 28 apartments on three lots in the 100 Block of South Killarney Lane.
That property was rezoned last year from B-3 (Neighborhood Business) to R-3.
Planning Director Mike Roberts said the city had approved about 4,100 single-family residences and 2,300 apartment units since the moratorium ended.
Two property owners are seeking zone changes on Red House Road.
Joe Robertson and Jim Kelly, partners in KK & RR LLC, seek to divide and rezone about 13.8 acres adjacent to County Club Heights currently zoned R-1c (Single Family Residences on 8,500-square-foot lots).
They propose rezoning 1.5 acres along the road to B-1, with the remaining acreage rezoned R-4 (Mixed Residential). The property faces a B-1 zone across the road.
The off-road section of the property’s uneven terrain makes it more suitable for a mixture of residential uses, said attorney David Bohannon. An R-4 zone also would allow construction of owner-occupied condominiums, with the population density no greater than allowed by R-1c, he said.
While most commissioners were receptive to the B-1 portion of the request, Fore said he would be reluctant to approve additional R-4 zoning until that section of the city’s development ordinance is revised.
As property on Barnes Mill Road was rezoned R-4 last year, opponents noted the ordinance described R-4 as designed to accommodate public housing and limited to two acres.
Dr. Ron Marionneaux, the city’s planning consultant when the ordinance was composed, recently wrote the city a letter affirming that intent.
Zoning the property as a planned unit development (PUD) is not an option, Roberts said, because PUDs must be at least 40 acres.
Mike and Anna Land seek to have 3.9 acres at 998 Red House Road annexed and zoned B-3. The Lands previously used the property for their Hillcrest Nursery, which is no longer in business.
The property, which the county has zoned UC-1 (Urban-Single Family Residential, already is served by city sewer. While the surrounding property is residential, The Lands’ property has been used for commercial purposes for more than 40 years.
In his capacity as a member of the Richmond tree board, Land asked the commission to recommend revision of city’s list of acceptable plants for new developments and the hiring of a city landscape inspector.
After the planning commission approves development plans that include landscaping requirements, developers do not always follow the plan, he said. The city has no codes enforcement officer with landscaping knowledge.
The board also seeks revision of city codes to allow use of appropriate, existing vegetation to buffer differing uses, Land said.
Most commissioners seemed receptive to the board’s proposals.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.