Officials: Contentious Decatur zoning decisions a function of growth

May 22—With growth comes conflict, and city officials said public consternation over recent Decatur zoning district changes is attributable to accelerating development, not to a lack of planning or the delay in completion of a new zoning code that was started four years ago.

And for a city that had seen almost no change in population for two decades, the growth has been explosive. In the last three years, 14 major subdivisions (10 homes or more) with more than 1,000 new homes, plus three town home developments and an upscale apartment complex have been through the city's planning and building approval process.

"Every subdivision we've approved in the last three years somebody had an issue with the drainage and traffic," said Planning Commission Chairman Kent Lawrence, but he said those problems are not unique to Decatur. Fast-growing Huntsville, Athens and Priceville are encountering the same issues.

Lawrence said an increasing number of zoning change requests "is all because of growth."

One of the 14 recently approved subdivisions, Old River Manor off Upper River and Old River roads, has completed a first phase of 19 homes. The final plat on a second phase of 16 homes is up for approval by the Planning Commission on Tuesday. Developer Davidson Homes' plan for the full subdivision is for a total of 67 single-family homes, plus 39 town homes. The town homes would be on 5 acres in phase 1.

The other subdivisions are at various stages of planning or construction.

In March and April, two town home projects off Carridale Street Southwest and the Villarreal apartment complex off Upper River Road Southeast generated the most pushback from residents of existing neighborhoods.

These projects led to the formation of the 1DUCK (OneDecatur United Citizen Kaizen). This watchdog group led by Andrea Hoffmeier Wilson is critical of the recent zoning decisions and the city's approach to growth.

Wilson said it appears the city isn't adhering to the One Decatur comprehensive plan approved in 2018. The city hasn't put in place necessary infrastructure to deal with growth and it's letting developers remove valuable trees without a replacement plan, she said.

"We are not against growth but, if you have growth without the proper conditions, they're just rubber-stamping these increased zonings without considering what is really best for Decatur," Wilson said.

Randall Hill is a 1DUCK member and resident of the Hickory Hills subdivision, next to the planned Villareal apartments.

"It seems like things are being done without a real good plan," Hill said.

Terry said this isn't true. His staff, other city departments, the Planning Commission and the City Council consult the One Decatur plan on every request and project.

The city hired Clarion Associates in 2018 for $40,000 to lead a rewrite of the zoning codes, some of which were written in the 1950s.

The consultant unveiled the first half of the proposed codes in January 2020, but Terry said the COVID-19 pandemic and a complete change in personnel in the city's Planning Department delayed the release of the full proposal.

Terry told the Planning Commission in its April meeting that Clarion Associates is on track to present the proposed update to the city's zoning and land-use codes late this summer.

Lawrence said he doesn't think the delay has had any impact, even though the city's growth has accelerated while it waits for the consultant to complete the plan.

Terry said the No. 1 thing the rewrite will do "is modernize the language and process." For example, he said it will change how the city calculates parking requirements for businesses.

Wilson said the average citizen doesn't understand the city's approval process. She said it also seems that zoning requests from developers get pushed through before the public can react to what's happening.

"There's a complete lack of transparency in the process," Wilson said. "A property owner puts in for a rezoning, an obscure sign shows up on the property, they run a couple of ads and they approve it."

Lawrence said the Planning Commission is aware of complaints from the public that they didn't know about a zoning, annexation or development request.

While no notice is required under state law or city ordinance, the city publishes the zoning and development plans that are under consideration in The Decatur Daily's legal classifieds. It also places a sign on the property under consideration for a change and door-hangers are placed at residents' homes that are within 500 feet of the planned change.

However, the commission asked Terry at the April meeting to work on a plan to improve the notification and present it at this Tuesday's meeting. Among the notification additions they discussed were a larger sign alerting neighbors of a possible change at the property in question and additional social media posts.

Terry said some conflict often comes from the public's misunderstanding of the process. He said the city's approval process is lengthy for many reasons and one of them is to manage growth.

"There's always a struggle with growth and infrastructure," Terry said. "We have data for everything we do that tells when there might be problems."

Terry said it's unfair to say the city isn't proactive when it along with the Decatur-area Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Alabama Department of Transportation are often commissioning studies focused on managing growth.

For example, he said the MPO recently had an intersection study done in Southeast Decatur and Priceville. This study looked at 14 intersections along Alabama 67, Upper River Road and Interstate 65.

The complaint from the public most often voiced lately is that a new development will create too much traffic, such as on Upper River Road Southeast or Modaus Road Southwest.

Hickory Hills residents are against an apartment complex planned off Upper River Road, next to their subdivision. The city is working on plans to upgrade Upper River Road. Hill tried to get the council to delay the apartment project but it refused.

Hill said residents told the City Council about the problems with traffic, flooding and the environment but they were ignored.

Wilson and Hill said the city is too quick to approve the numerous recent projects by developers without putting the proper infrastructure in place.

Lawrence said the city can't afford to build a road in anticipation of a development. Most infrastructure comes when the city is sure that a development is going to be built, he said.

Terry said the city approval process is designed to make sure developers, contractors, engineers and residents are building or using properties consistent with their zoning, creating proper site plans and following through with proper construction techniques.

A request for a change or a planned project must be submitted to the Planning Department at least 21 days before the Planning Commission meets.

Lee's department then works on getting the paperwork ready for the technical review committee, which typically meets on a Tuesday, the week before the commission meets. The technical review committee consists of representatives of the city departments, Decatur Utilities, Joe Wheeler Electric Membership Cooperative, the Planning Commission members and the Alabama Department of Transportation.

Terry said his department then has a few days to create an agenda and it's usually sent out by Thursday or Friday. The Planning Commission then meets on the third Tuesday of the month.

Requests for zoning, annexation or vacation of city property then go to the City Council, which extends the process even longer.

"It could be three to six months before work could begin sometimes," Terry said.

Lawrence said the Planning Commission members study the agenda and often venture to the site of the proposed project or change.

"We know the property and its issues like drainage and traffic," Lawrence said. "We look at the building and the supported research."

The Planning Commission usually holds a one-hour work session to review the agenda prior to the regular meeting, although they could meet longer if it's a large agenda.

"Most of the time, the members just ask a lot of questions," Lawrence said.

Lawrence said this preparation makes them familiar with the issue to a point that they don't make a lot of changes to a project or request "unless we hear something big."

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.