Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Rezoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Neighbors urge council to reject rezoning of 111 Hooper Street; developer grant noted as contingency
Summary
At a public hearing, neighbors and community members raised safety, drainage, tree loss and character concerns about a proposed rezoning of 111 Hooper Street from R-1/R-2 to R-3; proponents said the change matches the city’s comprehensive plan and the project depends on a state grant to the developer.
Members of the public and council members discussed a Planning Commission recommendation to rezone 111 Hooper Street — a 5.13-acre parcel — from R-1 and R-2 (single- and two-family) to R-3 (multifamily) during a public hearing at Monday’s Athens City Council meeting.
Several nearby residents said rezoning would change neighborhood character and raise safety and environmental concerns. “It’s a blind corner, especially with speeders,” Aaron Romero told council, and he said runoff and freeze–thaw icing at the Hooper–Nottingham intersection pose seasonal hazards. Romero also described narrow road conditions, absent sidewalks, recurring litter, and erosion near a creek that borders his yard.
“Putting in a massive development — let’s call it what it is, it’s a business — you would be putting in a huge sprawling business right next to our homes,” Diana Marvel said. Marvel and other neighbors said the change from single-family zoning to multifamily housing would “irrevocably change” the community and urged council to prefer sites already zoned for higher density housing.
Other speakers supported the rezoning as a way to increase housing supply. Rob Delich, who said he represents Porch Fest and broader community interests, said the proposed development would be relatively small — “50 or 60 units, I think” — and argued that the city’s comprehensive plan anticipates densifying places like this. Delich noted that the project’s development is contingent on a state grant to the developer and that site planning and Planning Commission review would follow if the rezoning proceeds.
A procedural question from the public record noted that even if council votes in favor of rezoning at a later reading, the matter would then proceed to review under Title 41, which could address mitigation measures such as traffic, environmental, and site-design concerns. Council closed the public hearing and moved to the regular session without voting on the rezoning at this meeting.
