A condo developer has one more meeting to attend before building on Russell Street.
On Tuesday the Starkville Planning and Zoning Commission accepted the Board of Adjustment and Appeals” recommendation to approve a variance for Boardtown Development”s four-condo building at 509 Russell St. The plan has gone before three boards in three months and developers hope their appearance next Tuesday before the Board of Aldermen will end the episode.
Boardtown appeared before the Planning and Zoning board in February requesting a plat for its High Cotton development. The four condos are to be built on .26 acres of land, which violates a density code stating no more than 15 units are to be constructed on one acre. The High Cotton density equates to 15.38 dwelling units per acre.
The Planning and Zoning Commission referred the developers to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals, which quickly approved the necessary variance for High Cotton at its March 23 meeting.
The developers again appeared before the Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday represented by Thomas Allen of Pritchard Engineering. The commission asked Allen a couple of questions before unanimously accepting the Board of Adjustment and Appeals” variance.
“It delayed us some, but it wasn”t a major setback,” said Allen of the board hopping.
City Planner Ben Griffith said the subdivision regulations which govern development were established in 1969 and are in need of updating. He said he and City Engineer Edward Kemp will likely meet with local utility representatives and other stakeholders in the near future to update the regulations.
Griffith said he considered letting the slightly excessive units-per-acre pass at the February Planning and Zoning meeting, but City Attorney Chris Lattimer felt more comfortable referring Boardtown to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals.
Planning and Zoning Chairman Dr. Jerry Emison said the delay was worthwhile to ensure integrity.
“This is the way the process is supposed to work. The Board of Adjustments is supposed to deal with those kind of issues,” he said.
Emison added that if developers had noticed the excessive density sooner it could have skipped a step and gone straight to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals. With the exception of the density, he said, the development is “fully consistent with the development pattern you have in that area.”
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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