LUZ tables Old Middleburg townhome rezoning after neighbor drainage concerns; applicant to meet community

The committee opened the public hearing for ordinance 2025-0130 — a small-scale land use amendment and companion rezoning to allow townhomes on a 1.6‑acre vacant site along Old Middleburg Road — but then tabled the item to May 6 after neighborhood concerns surfaced and follow-up discussions with the applicant.

Two neighbors and a civil engineer spoke at the meeting. Neighbor Roger Luxford, who lives next door, said the property has historically drained toward the back of his lot and that prior nearby developments have altered drainage patterns; he argued raising the new development’s grade could force stormwater onto his yard and create a “bathtub” effect that would require him to raise his own yard at cost. Developer representative Patrick Honore said he supported the project and offered to answer questions, and later returned to the dais to indicate the applicant agreed to meet with neighbors.

Council Member Rockmont Johnson reported that an interim discussion in the Green Room produced an agreement on additional buffering and an 8‑foot fence between the new development and the nearest house, and that runoff would be directed into the proposed retention pond. Johnson requested the item be continued to allow the developer time to resubmit the application as a PUD (instead of conventional rezoning) and to finalize those changes; the applicant confirmed agreement and the committee continued the public hearing to May 6, 2025.

Staff had described the site as located on collector roadways with available water and sewer and noted sewer extension would be required. Planning Commission had voted unanimously to approve the related land-use change with minimal discussion; at the LUZ meeting, neighborhood drainage and access concerns prompted the table action. The applicant will return with revised materials and a PUD package.