Graham’s city council has unanimously rejected a rezoning request that would’ve allowed for the construction of an apartment complex for seniors with 60 units on 3.29 acres at 1133 South Main Street.
The council voted 5-0 Tuesday night to deny a request to rezone the property from general business to conditional residential for a three-story apartment complex that initially would’ve been targeted to adults 55 and over.
However, hoping to gain approval for its rezoning request, the developer had expressed a willingness to abide by a state definition of senior as individuals 62 and older, rather than the company’s definition of 55 and older.
Graham mayor Jennifer Talley set the tone for Tuesday night’s discussion by pointing out that the site of the proposed senior apartment complex – dubbed Laurel Gardens – is situated within a key business and commercial area, and city officials aren’t inclined to put residential development there.
The site is located between South Moore and Blair Streets, across South Main Street from the Sheetz gas station in Graham, according to the county’s GIS mapping system.
That property, however, is located within what has been designated as a commercial and suburban residential corridor, with an “appropriate” density of six dwelling units per acre but predominantly for single-family homes, duplexes, townhomes, and small multi-family dwellings, according to the city’s planning department.
Graham’s planning board also voted 6-0 last month to recommend denial of conditional rezoning for the project due to its incompatibility with surrounding land uses.
Ohio-based Pivotal Development nonetheless offered several other concessions this week in hopes of swaying the council to grant its rezoning request.
For example, the developer eliminated a proposed connection between the apartment complex and Blair Street, after speakers expressed concerns at last month’s planning board meeting about the potential increase in traffic from the apartments and its impact on property values for nearby single-family homes.
A conceptual plan that was filed with the city for Laurel Gardens showed the apartment complex as having 45 one-bedroom apartments, 15 two-bedroom units, and 98 parking spaces.
The developer also offered to deepen the setbacks along the front of the property from its original 25’ foot setback to 40’ and to install a six-foot privacy fence in order to provide more screening. The developer also said that only tenants 62 and older – and younger, immediate family members – would’ve been allowed to live at Laurel Gardens.
Pete Schwiegeraht, vice president of development for the Midwest region for Pivotal Development, stressed to the council Tuesday night that this type of housing would allow seniors to “age in place,” i.e., make it possible for seniors to live independently as long as possible, rather than having to move into a long-term care facility.
Burton and Janet Cates, of 417 South Maple Street, Graham, were the only people to speak against the proposal. Burton Cates told the council that the apartment complex was going to put older people out into crowded traffic on Main Street.
Talley returned to her earlier point, telling the developer that the site is “so close to downtown,” and the council wanted to maintain that business and commercial corridor envisioned within the city’s land-use plan. Graham has a limited amount of land that can be developed for business and commercial uses, the mayor added, a sentiment echoed by her fellow council members.
For his part, councilman Bobby Chin urged the developer to keep looking for a more suitable alternative location to build in Graham.
Talley introduced a motion to deny conditional residential rezoning for the project, which passed 5-0.
The 3.29-acre site at 1133 South Main Street is currently owned by Graham natives Sara M. Sizemore and Joseph Sizemore (who are siblings) and located near the intersection of South Main and West Moore streets, where State Employees’ Credit Union had planned to build a Graham branch prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alamance County tax records list the latest assessed value for the property at 1133 South Main Street in Graham at $56,390.
