Pelham council sends Oakmont rezoning back to planning commission after heated hearing

Pelham City Council recessed its June 4 meeting for a public hearing on a rezoning request from Harris Doyle Homes to allow a Planned Unit Development called Oakmont on roughly 247 acres along Oak Mountain State Park Road. After the developer’s presentation and an hour of public comment both for and against the plan, the council voted to send the application back to the planning commission for reconsideration.

Developer Brooks Harris said Oakmont would include 193 lots — 176 single-family and 17 large estate lots — with an overall density of about 0.78 homes per acre, extensive preserved green space and a 100-foot undisturbed buffer from State Park Road. “We anticipate pricing on the homes to start in the upper 400s, average well into the 500s,” Harris said, and projected annual property-tax revenue of roughly $570,000 and $342,000 that would support schools.

Engineers for the project presented traffic counts and a study they said was conducted during school-session peak periods. Wade Lowery of Engineering Design Group summarized peak-hour trip estimates for the development — for example, about 112 inbound and 69 outbound trips in the PM peak — and said the study found turn lanes were not warranted by engineering thresholds but that the developer agreed to add full-access turning lanes as a best practice.

Opponents said the plan still represents too much density for the site and raised concerns about traffic, school capacity and protection of natural areas near Oak Mountain State Park. A resident who identified herself only as Jasmine said, “Trying to cram 176 houses on less than 87 acres is high density and that’s not what Pelham is about,” and asked for firmer guarantees that preserved acreage would remain undisturbed. Hunter Milling, another opponent, urged council members to “protect our communities, our safety, and the natural beauty of our state park area,” saying local roads and emergency access are already strained.

Several nearby residents who have bought homes built by Harris Doyle spoke in favor of the project, praising the builder’s customer service and the proposed preservation features. Dustin Doherty, a recent arrival, said his experience with Harris Doyle had been “wonderful.”

Council members pressed the developer on product mix, setbacks and whether smaller “garden-home” zones could be converted by other builders into much higher totals. One council member noted that existing zoning categories (R1/R2) would yield fewer, larger lots and suggested the developer consider larger frontages or deeper setbacks. The council also referenced a June 1 developer presentation that differed substantially from the version reviewed by the planning commission.

At the meeting’s end the council announced it would return the application to the planning commission for reconsideration; the council did not take a final rezoning vote that night. Council President stated, “In fairness to the developer, the city council is sending the application back to the planning commission for reconsideration.” The matter will return to the council at a later date.

Next steps: the planning commission will re-review the application and the council will schedule further consideration after that review.