Planning commission backs West Oxmoor shopping plaza and gas station with traffic and covenant conditions

The Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 9 recommended approval of Z250009, a redevelopment proposal at West Oxmoor Road and Happy Lane for an 8,000-square-foot retail plaza and a roughly 5,000-square-foot convenience store with gasoline pumps, subject to traffic improvements and privately negotiated covenants.

Planning staff presented the project and recommended approval conditioned on a right-turn lane into the site as required by the county traffic engineering department. David Brown, planning staff, described the site as three contiguous parcels near Homewood Church of Christ, Regency Retirement Village and Oxmoor Valley Orthodontics, noted the site’s steepest slopes are nearest West Oxmoor Road, and said the proposed development “does comply with neighborhood center designation requirements” on the county’s future land use map.

Jay Clark, representing Homewood Church of Christ, told the commission the church no longer opposed the application after the seller, purchaser and the church negotiated replacement covenants and agreed to sign a new covenant that will be recorded at closing. Clark said the church ‘‘no longer oppose[s] based on the presumption that the covenants … will be recorded at the time of closing.’’ The church had previously objected but provided written evidence of the new agreement to commission staff.

Debbie Sima of Oxmoor Valley Orthodontics, which abuts the intersection, asked the commission to address traffic safety, saying the practice handles many patients daily and that accessing Happy Lane is “a challenge.” Brown and the chairman directed her to county Roads & Transportation and to the district commissioner for traffic-control requests; staff confirmed the commission would require a right-turn lane for the proposed development as a condition of the recommendation.

Applicant Russell Ware of Capstone Engineering Group said the developer intends to “save what we can” of the mature trees on the site and is prepared to move the project into the design phase. Commissioners recorded a motion recommending approval with the traffic condition and the private covenants; the motion passed.

The recommendation will be forwarded to the Jefferson County Commission for a final decision, and the traffic condition will require coordination with the county traffic engineering office before site work proceeds.