Montgomery Planning Commission Deals With Touchy Rezoning Issue

The Montgomery County Planning Commission met recently to discuss rezoning request that brought up some “fiery” issues with water scarcity.

The commission also viewed plat proposals and held a coupleof public hearings. “We really opened up a can of worms for people buying lots,” said vice chair of the Planning Commission, Walt Haynes.

The hot topic of the night came with the discussion of the Reese family rezoning request, proposing to change a parcel from Agriculture (A-1) to Rural Residential (RR). The property is located on the west side of Bradshaw Road, north of New Ridge Road and adjoins the Ridges phases 2-7.

The request, previously tabled, raised the question about water scarcity in the area and if the change in zoning would affect future abilities to provide water.

A letter from a neighbor read aloud for the board stated, “Several homes ran out of water regularly.” Developments need to be limited to where water is available, Commission Member Bryan Rice offered.

Peggy Smith, a citizen, complained that she and her neighbors for seven years have been having problems with water scarcity. “We are strapped for water,” she explains. “It’s a major concern.”

With wells that are 700 feet, draining a gallon a minute and each household averaging 70 gallons a day, there is not a lot of water to go around and residences start pulling from each other’s wells.\

The issue of fires in the area is a major concern for water scarcity. When wells are drained there is less water pressure, as well as less water to put out the fire. “It is a more serious water problem than before,” said William Sietz, a member of the Planning Commission “I find it concerning for fire safety in these areas. Are we endangering people in these water situations?”

A decision could not be reached based on current concerns, and will be discussed further at the next upcoming meeting April 23, 2008, once more information on proper water levels has been researched.

New business for the Planning Commission included a preliminary proposal for the Cold Mountain Major Subdivision and the HS Tejas Subdivision. The Planning Commission had six items to address for the Cold Mountain item and will be brought back for further discussion.

The members of the Planning Commission scheduled a visit to the HS Tejas Subdivision for April 23, 2008 to evaluate the changed that had been made to the site in the past six months. The board was concerned with the proposal for use of private roads and will address the issue of maintaining emergency vehicle access to the Dixie Caverns side of the property.

The Martin Rezoning Request, the Hogan’s Retreat Major Subdivision and the Kensington Phase II Major Subdivision were voted to go to the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.

The public hearings consisted of requests by Knollwood Development, LLC for a Comprehensive Plan map amendment to change the policy map designation from Rural to Urban expansion based on a change in conditions. The second hearing consisted of a request for an amendment Village Plan map to change the designation from Village Medium Density Residential to Village Mixed Use for parcel(s) based on hardship and change in conditions.