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Board approves 158-acre PUD near Dotto Road; adds owner-occupancy stipulation, limits rentals to 10%
Summary
The Southaven Board of Aldermen rezoned about 158 acres north of Dotto Road to a planned unit development and voted to add a stipulation intended to require initial owner-occupancy while limiting rentals to 10%; the planning commission had unanimously recommended the PUD.
The Southaven Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to rezone roughly 158 acres on the north side of Dotto Road (between Highway 301 and Horn Lake Road) to a planned unit development and added a stipulation aimed at ensuring initial owner-occupancy and limiting total rental units to 10 percent.
Planning Director Whitney Cook told the board the proposal would set aside about 48.53 acres as common open space and yield an overall density of about 2.08 dwelling units per acre, which she said qualifies as low-density residential under the city’s calculations. Cook said the developer submitted 10 home elevations, of which six were accepted; those approved include homes with heated living areas ranging from about 1,850 to over 2,000 square feet, recessed and carriage-load garages, and a mix of lot sizes starting around 10,000 square feet.
The planning commission recommended approval unanimously after negotiations trimmed an initially proposed 12 percent rental allowance to 10 percent and after staff requested removal of three proposed stub-outs to reduce potential connectivity and traffic impacts. Cook also described additional covenant provisions proposed by the developer, including front-yard tree requirements, matched garage-door colors and restrictions on overnight on-street parking.
During the board discussion several aldermen pressed for stronger safeguards to prevent homes from being built specifically for rental use. One motion the board adopted would add language into the PUD text intended to ensure that initial occupancy is owner-occupied; the mayor and aldermen discussed that hardship exceptions could be considered later if a home remained unsold. The developer said he builds spec homes and that, if market conditions change, limited temporary rentals can be necessary when houses do not sell immediately.
The board opened a zoning public hearing; no members of the public spoke. The board then voted by roll call to add the owner-occupancy stipulation and to approve the rezoning. The roll-call recorded affirmative votes from Aldermen Lewis, Hoots, Jerome, Gallagher, Wheeler and Flores.
The PUD approval incorporates the site plan, the covenants presented to the planning commission, the 10 percent rental cap and the added owner-occupancy language in the PUD text; staff said those elements give the city additional enforcement avenues through the PUD document and, separately, through homeowner association oversight.
Next steps: the PUD text will be finalized for incorporation into the ordinance and recorded conditions; the board noted it could hear hardship requests in the future and retain ultimate authority to modify conditions if warranted.
