Rezoning request by Habitat rejected

Feb. 27—A proposed rezoning for a possible Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County subdivision met with stiff resistance from the Moulton Heights community last week, leading the Planning Commission to vote against recommending a change.

The issue is scheduled to be on the Decatur City Council agenda at next Monday's meeting.

Habitat, a nonprofit, asked the city to rezone 19.52 acres on Moulton Heights Road from R-2, a residential district that requires a minimum of 10,000-square-foot lots, to R-5, a residential district that requires a minimum of 5,000-square-foot lots. R-5 is a zoning district that allows patio/garden homes with small lots.

The rezoning attempt is the latest fight for residents of Moulton Heights, a sparsely developed community in the area around Moulton Heights Road.

Longtime residents of this area have memories of AME Homes, which became Stonegate Village, a crime-riddled housing project that was demolished by the city in 2003, Planning Commission member Francis Tate said at last Tuesday's meeting.

"We have experienced what it's like to have 19 acres of low-income housing," Tate said. "We know what it does to the city and the existing neighborhood."

Moulton Heights residents fought and won in June against a rezoning attempt that would have allowed the construction of an affordable housing apartment complex with subsidized rent off Eighth Street Southwest and Moulton Heights Road.

Bedford Drive Southwest resident Sylvester Love said this is the third time that he had to attend a Planning Commission meeting to fight a rezoning that he feels doesn't belong near his home.

Love said he feels the R-5 district would allow developers to build low-income housing and create another situation like Stonegate.

Councilman Billy Jackson, whose District 1 includes Moulton Heights, said several Moulton Heights constituents, including residents of Terrehaute Street and Runnymeade, contacted him to express concern about the Habitat for Humanity proposal.

Jackson said the city usually allows Habitat to build on infill lots and not as major subdivisions of more than three lots.

Jackson said the problem is District 1 is already "covered up" with rental properties and people are concerned about the "low-income" part of a Habitat development.

"They're concerned that the Habitat project would hurt their property values," Jackson said.

He said one neighbor was concerned that the neighborhood would fall into disrepair around a new Habitat subdivision.

Tate said low-income housing is what Habitat does, and she thinks the nonprofit would build this kind of housing on the Moulton Heights Road property.

Habitat of Morgan County Executive Director Landis Griffin declined to comment about the Planning Commission decision, but engineer Richard Humphreys, of Pugh Wright McAnally Inc., told the commission that Habitat is only asking for a rezoning of the property, not specifying what they will build there.

Humphreys did say the plan is to build single-family, detached homes that are owner-occupied.

Habitat of Morgan County builds single-family homes that typically have about an 1,100-square-foot living space with three bedrooms.

"Habitat would assist the owners in getting into, and they would own that home going forward," Humphreys said.

Jackson said Habitat does good work by helping moderate-income people get into a home, but he's concerned that the development could get labeled a "Habitat community" and this could impact the residents and the nearby neighborhoods' property values.

"Regardless of how many we build, if it's 10, if it's 20, we will have an accumulation of Habitat homes in one small area," Jackson said. "We've seen this with Stonegate and other developments, and the community has asked me to express they do not want this."

Planning Commission chairman Kent Lawrence said the zoning could remain R-2 for Habitat. It already owns the property so they can build whatever size houses they want.

"They don't have to be in a R-5," Lawrence said. "Us not approving this does not stop Habitat from building a home. They already own the property."

However, Jackson said he doesn't think Habitat will build if they don't change the zoning.

The commission then voted 4-1 against rezoning the property.

Planning Commission member Eddie Pike cast the lone vote for the rezoning.

"It was just a simple change from R-2 to R-5," Pike said. "The owner asked for it, and, based on the information I had, I didn't see any reason not to vote for it."

City Planner Tommie Williams said Habitat is scheduled to present its proposal for a zoning change, absent the usual Planning Commission recommendation, to the City Council on Monday.

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