Planning commission recommends denial of rezoning for 10.65-acre Larkin Lane site

The Montgomery City Planning Commission voted to deny a request to rezone 10.65 acres at the southern end of Larkin Lane from R60M multifamily residential to PGH40 patio garden-home zoning at its meeting, citing traffic, stormwater and property-value concerns.

The rezoning request, presented by Chris Bostic of Pilgrim and Bostick Engineering on behalf of FHM Company, asked to change the parcel’s zoning so the developer could later build patio homes with a 47-foot minimum lot width. "We wish to rezone this property from R 60 M to PGH 40," Bostic said. He described a concept plan showing roughly 51 lots and said stormwater would be handled by a detention pond on land to the south if the project proceeds.

Neighbors said the proposal raised multiple local concerns. Richard Dean, identifying himself as a long-time resident, said the narrow local roads and existing congestion at morning commute times made the area unsuitable for the additional traffic the subdivision would generate. "You're talking about another 50, roughly 51 houses with a couple of cars each. So I think it's going to be a huge traffic problem," Dean told the commission. Residents also questioned drainage capacity in nearby ditches and easements for existing homes down by the water tower.

Commissioners and staff discussed when a traffic study is required. Bostic said a formal traffic study is required for a plat with more than 50 lots, and that rezoning alone does not automatically require a traffic study. He said, "It's not required for rezoning to do a traffic study. It's required for a plat." Several commissioners and members of the public contrasted that procedure with the community’s wish to see traffic impacts evaluated earlier in the process.

The commission’s motion to deny cited traffic and flood/drainage concerns and potential negative impacts on adjacent property values. The motion carried unanimously. The commission recorded the outcome as denial based on property-value impacts and related planning inconsistencies.

The developer said the PGH40 zoning request included a qualification for 47-foot minimum lots, which he said would prevent future multifamily development allowed under the current R60M zoning. "Once we rezone this to PGH 40 with a qualification for 47 foot lots, the only thing we can put there is single family with 47 foot minimum lots," Bostic said. Neighbors disputed that as an adequate protection and preferred a 50-foot minimum to match adjacent Eliza Place lots.

The record shows multiple outstanding technical issues beyond lot width, including a potential detention-pond location south of the site, a partial right-of-way on Bienville Road that currently prevents connection, and an existing water-work access and easement near a water tower that will affect design and access.

Following the vote, commissioners did not adopt any alternative direction or conditions for the developer; the denial stands as the commission's recommendation.

The planning commission's recommendation will proceed through the city's formal process for any further action or appeals.