Board schedules public hearing after planning commission recommends denial of Blackburn Holdings 324‑acre rezoning request

The Oxford Board of Aldermen on Oct. 7 held a first reading of a rezoning request from Blackburn Holdings LLC that would reclassify roughly 324 acres in the city’s northeast corner across multiple zoning districts.

Ben, a planning staff member, told the board the applicant seeks to rezone specific parcels identified in the packet (PPINs 3520, 3531, 4425, 4506, 4635) with proposed designations including suburban corridor, suburban multifamily, neighborhood residential and suburban residential. “So about 324 acres,” Ben said, describing how the request increases suburban corridor acreage and introduces about 85.5 acres of suburban multifamily, about 123 acres of neighborhood residential and reduces suburban residential to roughly 52 acres.

Why it matters: the request changes the character and allowable uses of a large, contiguous area near Highway 7, Highway 30 and Charger Lane and would reshuffle the balance of multifamily and residential zones in that sector of Oxford City.

At the planning commission, Ben reported, commissioners first failed to table the item on a 3‑3 vote and then the commission’s chair moved to deny the request; that motion carried unanimously at the planning commission. Ben also reported that a property owner, Heather Toney, spoke at the planning commission hearing expressing concerns that the rezoning might be premature because the applicant indicated there were not immediate development plans.

The applicant filed additional material for the September meeting, which Ben said included more data the applicant used to justify public need; the board did not take final action on Oct. 7. The matter will return for a public hearing and further consideration at the board’s next meeting.