By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune Managing Editor
The Florence City Council voted against a zone change at Tuesday’s caucus meeting that would have allowed a controversial, 164-unit multi-family residential development on Weaver Road to go forward.
The vote derails the project, which was strongly supported by City staff, but recommended against by the Boone County Planning Commission.
Public comment was not permitted during discussion at the June 23 Florence City Council meeting or at Tuesday’s caucus, but the voices of those not in favor of the project were clearly heard.
Residents used social media outlets and distributed flyers in the Weaver Road neighborhood to express opposition to the project. Council members acknowledged they were aware of the public sentiment, but said it did not influence their vote.
Councilman Mel Carroll said the city was just following the recommendation of the Planning Commission.
“The Planning Commission has been charged with investigating and approving or disapproving planning and zoning issues and that is their role,” Carroll said. “They had a public hearing and chose to deny this request. With that in mind I felt we needed to honor the work the commission members had put in and concur with their request for denial.”
In 2014, however, the Boone County Planning Commission approved a similar residential development at the site, but that project never came before the council for a vote because it was withdrawn from consideration. Carroll would not say if he would have voted in favor of that project.
The County Planning Commission makes recommendations, but the ultimate decision lies with the local governing body, which in this case was the City of Florence.
At the June 23 council meeting, Florence Director of Business and Community Development Joshua Wice said the development the council rejected was, in many ways, superior to the 2014 project recommended for approval by the planning commission.
“This applicant is proposing some amenities for the residents that are extensive, including a clubhouse, pool, fitness facility, movie theater and office and business work area,” Wice said then. “This project has more open space than the previously approved concept development plan (and) it has more parking spaces. The applicant will construct over $300,000 worth of road improvements.”
Wice declined to comment on Tuesday’s vote, but was clearly disappointed.
BRG Realty applied for the Zone Change on behalf of Commonwealth Bank and Trust Company, which owns the 9.7 acre parcel. If approved, the zoning would have changed from Commercial Two (C-2) to Urban Residential Two (UR-2).
Jeff March, CEO of BRG Realty, said the company would continue to explore its options for the site.
The Florence Planning and Zoning Board put the issue before the full council for consideration without a recommendation at the June meeting and there appeared to be some support for the project.
Tuesday, however, Council Member Julie Metzger-Aubuchon, a member of the planning and zoning board, recommended the council deny the zone change.
“While I think there might be some support for this project in the council, we would have to have a super majority,” Metzger-Aubuchon said. “I would like to make a motion to ask the city attorney to draft a municipal order that concurs with the planning commission’s recommendation for denial of the zone change.”
The motion was approved unanimously and a formal vote will take place Tuesday, June 14, but council members agreed that the project, in its current form, is dead.
Metzger-Aubuchon advised residents that the decision not to approve a zone change does not mean the property will remain dormant.
“This is a piece of property that is going to develop, Metzger-Aubuchon said. “You may turn down a project, but you lose something – we lose amenities that the residents might have had, we lose signage, we lose road improvements, so there’s a mixed bag.”
The property is already approved for commercial use, so if a developer chose a project consistent with the requirements of that zoning, they would not be obligated to make any of the upgrades outlined in the residential agreement that was denied Tuesday.
See NKyTribune’s previous story here