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Neighbors press commissioners to block Rushwood access; Bellwood Office Park rezoning deferred
Summary
Neighbors urged the Planning Commission to reject using Rushwood Drive as the access point for a 1.37-acre Bellwood Office Park; commissioners deferred the applicant's PCD request to allow the applicant to pursue alternative access agreements after residents detailed traffic, safety, and infrastructure concerns.
A proposed rezoning to create the Bellwood Office Park PCD on a 1.37-acre parcel along Rosewood Drive dominated public comment on April 8, with neighbors urging commissioners to avoid routing project access onto Rushwood Drive.
Staff and applicant representatives described the project as a four-building, low-intensity office park intended to match the adjacent Jefferson Square character; the plan includes 44 parking spaces, interior trailer parking screening, and facade design meant to be compatible with nearby offices. Applicant Clyde Roundtree and property owner Wayne Belt explained the site history and said the parcel has an historic driveway that provided church access for decades.
Residents and speakers—including Dr. Billy McIlrath—said Rushwood is already heavily used as a feeder and cut-through road, lacks sidewalks, and sees school pick-up and train-detour traffic that creates pedestrian-safety and pavement-deterioration concerns. McIlrath told commissioners, "Rush wood is already the primary feeder road for our neighborhood to Church Street," and asked the commission to avoid adding heavy or construction traffic to the street. Several residents noted the property has commercially zoned rear frontage and asked why that access was not used. Staff said prior litigation produced a trial-court summary-judgment that, as of the moment, found no entitlement for the parcel to access Jefferson Square; that ruling is on appeal, so the applicant currently lacks a reliable legal path to access through Jefferson Square.
After extended discussion about alternatives and impact mitigation, a commissioner moved to defer the application so the applicant could approach adjacent property owners and explore alternate access to Church Street; the motion passed. The deferral keeps the application off the commission's recommendation list pending further coordination on access.
