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Resident presses council over Hills Church Road parcel as council moves to advertise rezoning
Summary
A resident who bought land believing it was parkland pressed the council for clarity; council voted unanimously to advertise an ordinance to reclassify about 3.0469 acres on Hills Church Road from public land to R-2 medium-density residential following prior hearings and a prior rezoning vote.
During community input, resident Ben Carter told council he bought property in April 2021 under the impression the adjoining parcel was parkland and asked what the process had been to classify it as such. He said neighbors had maintained the land under that assumption and raised flooding concerns.
Administration summarized prior proceedings: the council held a public hearing at a previous meeting, concluded the property appeared intended as green space but never formally conveyed to the municipality, and ultimately voted at the earlier meeting to rezoned the parcel to R-2 to match surrounding properties. "As best we can tell, it appears that the property was intended to be green space, but for some reason that conversion never took place," administration said, adding there was no courthouse recording showing conveyance to the municipality (presentation SEG 190–236).
After the public comment period, council moved to advertise Ordinance No. 1106-25 to reclassify approximately 3.0469 acres (Tax Map 49-11-00-0-129) on Hills Church Road from Public Land to R-2 Medium Density Residential. The motion to advertise was seconded and approved unanimously; staff said the ordinance would update the official zoning map if adopted following the advertisement and subsequent adoption vote.
Council noted legal and property-rights complications, including possible constitutional takings claims if private owners are prevented from using titled property; staff emphasized the administration's preference to follow the formal ordinance process and record the rezoning on the official map.
Next steps: advertising of the ordinance, a public comment period and a subsequent meeting where council would consider formal adoption after advertisement.
