Paducah commissioners approve 12-home Clayton Park development over neighborhood objections

The Paducah Board of Commissioners approved a development agreement on March 10 to transfer the former Catterjohn site at 1501 Broadway to Westwood Development LLC for a 12-home subdivision called Clayton Park.

Carol Gault, speaking for city staff, told the commission the plan calls for 12 single-family homes averaging about $400,000 and roughly 1,800 square feet each, an approximately $4.5 million project. The agreement includes a 5% construction rebate, requires the developer to break ground within two years, and caps incentives at five years; private drives and common space will transfer to a homeowners association after the eighth lot sale, staff said.

Neighborhood speakers urged changes. "We were very shocked" when the planning commission showed the layout, Richard Taylor, president of the Jefferson Street Area Association, told the commission. Taylor said the association proposed flipping four lots so houses would face Jefferson Street to preserve the neighborhoods character and avoid blank side elevations and privacy fences.

Bill Coscarelli, a member of the Jackson Jefferson Historic Agency, said residents had not been consulted early in the planning process and urged staff to engage adjacent property owners before plans are finalized. "I speak to the idea of maintaining the integrity of the historic district," Coscarelli said.

Gault described the review process: the city issued an RFP in 2025, received two proposals, negotiated with the fund-ready developer and took the final plat through planning commission review and two public hearings. She said engineering constraints including stormwater requirements and impervious-surface calculations limited options for rotating house placements and lot configurations.

Commissioner Henderson said she had driven the property and understood neighbors concerns but concluded the project "is still going to be something that is going to be good for the city of Paducah" and voted in favor. The ordinance passed on roll call: Commissioners Henderson, Smith and Thomas and Mayor George P. Bray recorded "aye." No votes against or abstentions were recorded.

The agreement requires the developer to meet state stormwater and subdivision standards and complete the required permitting. After the vote, commissioners noted the city will continue dialogue with neighbors and that private drives and common-area responsibilities will transfer to the HOA after the threshold sale described in the agreement.

The commission did not amend the development agreement at the meeting. An executive session was later scheduled; no further formal action on this item was announced on the record.

The transfer and development agreement is now authorized for the mayor to execute, enabling construction permitting and platting to proceed under the terms described by staff.