Residents press commission to reject storage-unit rezoning; commission approves Smith request

Eddie Smith asked the Robertson County Commission to rezone a 2.51-acre parcel on Highway 31 W so he could build storage units; he said the project would bring jobs, local scholarships and that an engineering firm would design required stormwater controls. "The water does not ever touch our property," Smith told commissioners, and he said he has 20 people on a waiting list for the proposed facility.

Dozens of adjacent homeowners opposed the rezoning during the public hearing, describing recurring erosion, standing water and safety concerns tied to a creek that runs through Hidden Meadow Drive. "This is not about Eddie Smith. This is about the property," said Jim Malam, who said he has lived in the area 26 years and described the neighborhood as a "bowl" that funnels runoff into neighbors' yards. Multiple speakers showed photographs of standing water and erosion and warned that additional impervious surface could worsen flows and road safety.

Charles Lott of Clover Engineering, retained by the applicant, said the watershed that feeds the problem area encompasses roughly 57 acres and that the Smith parcel represents under 5% of that watershed; he added the project would be designed to meet or exceed county and state detention requirements. "His property is roughly just under 5% of this watershed," Lott told the commission, and said detention would be placed in a topographically appropriate location.

Commissioners asked staff about the commission's discretion when an application meets the zoning plan; planning staff said rezoning approvals are separate from site-plan and engineering review. "At this point, we are only voting on the rezoning," planning staff said, adding that retention and site-plan engineering must be reviewed and approved during the site-plan stage before the planning commission and by the county engineer.

After hearing public testimony and staff clarifications, the chair called the question and announced the resolution approving the rezoning. The chair declared the resolution passed as recorded in the meeting transcript. The transcript records the chair announcing the vote totals orally; the recorded vote numbers in the transcript are inconsistent and are noted in the meeting audit. The planning and engineering conditions the commission referenced will be addressed during the forthcoming site-plan review.

What happens next: the rezoning approval moves the concept forward to the site-plan stage, where engineering drawings and detention design will be reviewed by county staff and the county engineer before any building permits are issued.