A proposed rezoning request for 29 townhouses on 6.27 acres at the corner of Ivey Road and East Gilbreath Street in Graham got bogged down at the city council meeting Tuesday night, with the mayor and at least one council member expressing exasperation at the results of other townhouse developments.
Of particular annoyance to mayor Jennifer Talley is what she described as the widespread practice at a separate subdivision, Riley’s Meadow, where residents double-park their cars in such a manner that the second car blocks the sidewalk in front of the home, thereby obstructing walkers.
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The developer of the new townhouse subdivision had proposed sidewalks on both sides of the street. But with just a one-car garage for three-bedroom units, Talley and council member Bonnie Whitaker focused on the likelihood that parking was going to be a major problem – and that the overall density of the units was too high.
Talley had opposed Riley’s Meadow when she was a regular council member in 2020, as had current mayor pro tem Ricky Hall; but they were outvoted, 3-2, by then-mayor Jerry Peterman and councilmen Chip Turner and Melody Wiggins.
Talley, as both a council member prior to 2020 and since then as mayor, has opposed developments that she considers to be “too dense,” and she labeled the 29 townhouses at the corner of the busy intersection of Ivey Road and East Gilbreath Street as in the same vein.
While the developer’s attorney, Amanda Hodierne, and its engineer calculated the possibility various potential changes to the layout of the proposed subdivision, both Talley and Whitaker also kept pressing to lower the total number of units – from 29 to possibly 27, or even as low as 25.
But councilman Joey Parsons questioned whether the city would gain much. “I don’t think you’re going to drastically reduce the number of people by cutting” a couple of units, he said.
The other council members generally agreed with a suggestion from Parsons that the sidewalk could be kept to just one side of the one-lane roadway, and pushing back the frontage (and possibly reducing the rear setback) to allow more double-parking in front of the townhouse units.
The developer also offered to widen the parking pad in front of the one-car garage to 16 feet, rather than 12, in order to allow the possibility of parking a second car beside, rather than behind, another one in the driveway.
The developer had already made several changes to the original plans, based on feedback and suggestions at the city’s planning board meeting last month.
More parking spaces had been added to address parking concerns, and berms had been added on two sides to shield adjacent property owners and the public. Most significantly, the one road in and out of the subdivision had been widened from 26 feet to 31 feet.
But the one entrance along Ivey Road raised concerns about traffic, both with council members and several residents who spoke or sent written comments about the proposed subdivision.
There are two lots; one is very long, which tapers off at the back; most of the construction is centered on the two-lot portion closest to the intersection of Ivey Road and East Gilbreath Street.
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But when Talley suggested discounting the acreage at the rear of the lot, which had no buildings, Hodierne said the council was asking for changes beyond what the city’s ordinances require.
While Hodierne expressed some willingness to consider changes in the developer’s plan, she said, “We can’t plan to a phantom standard.” She suggested that some of Talley’s desires for the project amounted to “moving the goal posts.”
Ultimately, Hodierne and the developer’s engineer agreed to revise the plan with changes in the setbacks and removing one sidewalk and return to the council at its February 10 meeting.
