Apr. 3—The conditions for the sewer-main incentive that jump-started Decatur's residential growth four years ago have apparently been met by Morris Holdings LLC, according to City Planner Lee Terry.

The Planning Commission last week voted to recommend that the City Council release Morris Holdings from the $40,000 letter of credit that the company obtained as part of a 2019 sewer agreement with the city on the Old River Manor subdivision off Old River Road in Southeast Decatur.

Contingent on the City Council accepting the streets, curbs, gutters and sidewalks in the subdivision, the release would signal that Morris met its part in the agreement.

City Engineer Carl Prewitt told the Planning Commission that the infrastructure meets the city standards to release Morris' letter of credit.

City Council President Jacob Ladner said the previous council's agreement in July 2019 to add sewer to the area has been key to the accelerated residential construction.

"I give the previous council a lot of credit for doing that agreement and it will pay off very quickly," Ladner said. "They thought it was the right thing to do when they did that, and I think it's proven that it was the right thing to do."

Morris Holdings is made up of members of the Morris family.

The Morris family agreed to build at least 44 homes in a subdivision on 19.4 acres off Old River Road. In return, the city agreed to build a 3,800-foot sewer extension, at a cost of just under $900,000, from the west side of Alabama 67 to the Morris family property.

"We've been lucky," said Peyton Morris, who is the construction lead on the project. "We've built way more houses than we would have expected to in the last couple of years."

The initial number of planned homes changed to 54. Peyton Morris said they've built and sold most of the 28 homes in the first phase. They are now working on the 26 homes in Phase 2.

"We opened the second phase earlier than we expected and have already started selling some homes in it," Morris said.

Morris said his family wanted sewer access because sewer allows a developer to add more homes in a subdivision than using septic systems.

"We were probably able to add about 13 more homes because we had sewer access," he said.

The Morris subdivision was one of three subdivisions that helped ignite Decatur's residential growth, which had been dormant for more than two decades. Two more subdivisions were built next to Morris' development. A major apartment complex is planned on Upper River Road.

The city now has roughly 24 subdivisions with more than 2,000 homes under construction or in the planning stages. Decatur also has a number of new apartment complexes and town home developments underway.

Ladner said the city should offer a lot more incentives "if it's a good developer. We need to continue that aggressive approach, and we've got to move fast. You can't sharpen your pencil and make everything exactly right. You've got to be competitive and move fast with the information you have."

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