Commission recommends land‑use change, zoning for wheelchair‑accessible fourplex on Sparks Gap Road

The Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend a land‑use plan amendment and a zoning change that would allow a four‑unit, wheelchair‑accessible building on a five‑acre parcel on Sparks Gap Road in Bessemer.

The commission recommended approval of land use amendment LUA20250003 to reclassify the site to medium‑density residential and voted to recommend rezoning the parcel to RT (residential townhome) to permit a single, single‑story quadplex with four wheelchair‑accessible units (case Z250020). The motions passed during the commission’s public hearing on Aug. 1, 2025.

The change would allow the applicant, Alexa Ruffin, to build one four‑unit residence intended to serve residents with mobility impairments, with Ruffin living in one unit and the other three offered as long‑term rentals. “This will be my primary residence,” Ruffin told the commission, adding the rentals are meant for “someone who has mobility issues” and that leases will be standard year‑long agreements.

County planning staff summarized the proposal and…