One housing project was shot down by the Warrenton Board of Aldermen last Tuesday and another was withdrawn by its developer before a final vote.
Aldermen had allowed the two proposals for …
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One housing project was shot down by the Warrenton Board of Aldermen last Tuesday and another was withdrawn by its developer before a final vote.
Aldermen had allowed the two proposals for multifamily developments to linger for a month after giving them slim chances of approval during a late December hearing. Two separate developers had requested permit approvals for a 10-unit complex on East Walton Street and a 66-unit complex south of Morgan Street.
Bart Korman, a survey engineer representing both projects, asked the board of aldermen to withhold their final ruling until January, after aldermen signaled their disapproval of the developments last month. Korman suggested that the developers might be able to adjust their plans to make them more acceptable.
But during the board’s Jan. 18 meeting, city planning director Tim Burks said developer T.G.L. Properties, who had proposed the homes on East Walton Street, had simply withdrawn their application for a permit from the city. The developer had proposed three small apartment buildings with 10 total units directly behind the Kroger/Orscheln shopping center. Aldermen had objected to the lack of barrier between the homes and the commercial loading docks behind the shopping center.
The entire block of the Kroger/Orscheln shopping center is owned by T.G.L. Properties, according to county records.
The proposed housing complex south of Morgan Street, consisting of 17 buildings with 66 units with street connections to Morgan Street and Brune Parkway, came to a vote from the aldermen on Jan. 18. Planning director Burks said no revised proposal had been submitted by developer Beckemeyer Construction.
“We didn’t receive any new information or updates from the applicant on that project, so staff is still requesting that project be denied,” Burks said.
Warrenton’s planning and zoning commission, a citizen advisory board, has also advocated against the housing project, all citing concerns about Morgan Street being unfit for the increased traffic load.
Aldermen agreed with that concern, also citing housing density and lack of parking as issues. A vote to approve the housing project was rejected 0-6 on Jan. 18.
Aldermen did not discuss an unresolved proposal for a combined gas station, restaurant and car wash at the corner of South Highway 47 and Warrior Ridge. They had voted in December to return that proposal to the planning and zoning commission because of changes to the gas station site plan.
The development is on the agenda for the Feb. 3 planning and zoning meeting at the Walton Street Annex Building. If approved, it would go back to the board of aldermen later in February.
The proposed facility has drawn objections from nearby residents who say they don’t want to deal with traffic or noise from the site. However, the property to be developed is already zoned for commercial use, and other area residents have expressed support for the project.
