The debate over the city”s year-old sidewalk ordinance moved from the newspaper editorial pages and Internet message boards to Starkville City Hall Tuesday night.
On one side was Rudy Johnson, executive director of the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District, who doesn”t feel he should have to build a sidewalk when he constructs a new 14,000-square-foot building off C.C. Clark Road and Miley Drive. Starkville”s sidewalk ordinance would require the GTPDD to include a sidewalk along about 1/4-mile of C.C. Clark Road and Miley Drive before the city issues an occupancy permit for the structure when built, but Johnson doesn”t believe a sidewalk is necessary in an industrial area.
On the other side were proponents of sidewalks and members of the city”s transportation committee, many of whom asked the Board of Aldermen to enforce the sidewalk ordinance as written and not grant variances, as requested by Johnson. The ordinance requires sidewalks with all new single-family residential and commercial development projects, along all new roads and when a property receives improvements or renovations equating to at least 50 percent of the property”s appraised taxable value.
Johnson would be required to include about 1/4-mile of sidewalks along C.C. Clark Road and Miley Drive, but doesn”t feel he should have to spend $25,000 to build a “sidewalk to nowhere.” No other sidewalks are located along C.C. Clark Road or Miley Drive and Johnson contends the area has little to no foot traffic.
Sidewalk proponents, on the other hand, argued Tuesday sidewalks are needed if Starkville ever wants to become more pedestrian friendly.
Aldermen Tuesday agreed to hold a public hearing on possible amendments to the sidewalk ordinance which would provide for variances and an appeal process, although the board says the move is the result of multiple complaints about the ordinance, not just the GTPDD. Johnson Tuesday lobbied the board to grant a variance for the GTPDD, saying sidewalks don”t belong in an industrial area and the GTPDD shouldn”t have to pay to install one. The $25,000 to build a sidewalk could be used to buy meals for many of the city”s home-stricken seniors served by the GTPDD, he said.
“One size doesn”t fit all,” Johnson said in reference to the sidewalk requirements.
The GTPDD has attempted to buy more than 1 1/2 acres next to the organization”s facility on C.C. Clark Road to construct a walking path for seniors, most of whom would use a new 5,000-square-foot senior center planned in the 14,000-square-foot building. The city owns the property, however, and won”t sell it to the GTPDD, Johnson said. Additionally, Johnson wouldn”t be able to build a sidewalk elsewhere in town in lieu of his location along C.C. Clark Road and Miley Drive because that would be considered an impact fee and impact fees are not allowed, City Attorney Chris Latimer said.
Jim Gafford and Dr. Bethany Stich, members of the city”s Transportation Committee, said Starkville residents and businesses shouldn”t be granted variances just because the property owners or developers don”t want to spend money on sidewalks. Since the board tasked the Transportation Committee to look into amendments to the sidewalk ordinance, Stich and Gafford have looked at similar sidewalk ordinances elsewhere and found examples of variances in cases of topographical impediments — where topography would make a sidewalk impossible to construct — and for burdensome costs. But a variance wouldn”t be allowed, according to the other 42 ordinances studied by Stich and Gafford, in cases like the GTPDD and its sidewalk requirements along C.C. Clark Road and Miley Drive. The GTPDD has a multi-million dollar budget and no topographical impediments are in place.
The Transportation Committee is expected to meet next week with the hope of bringing proposed sidewalk ordinance amendments back to the Board of Aldermen for consideration. The most likely amendments would allow variances for topographical impediments and burdensome costs, Gafford said.
Still, Gafford, Stich and more than a half-dozen others encouraged aldermen to avoid granting variances, saying a variance for Johnson would set a precedent, which could be followed quickly by other developers and property owners who don”t want to build a sidewalk.
“The easy part is passing the ordinance,” Transportation Committee member Joe Fratesi said. “The hard part is standing up for it now that you passed it.”
Mayor Parker Wiseman encouraged Johnson and the Board of Aldermen to work together and come to a compromise. Johnson has said he would move the GTPDD and its 200-plus jobs out of Starkville because of the sidewalk issue. Wiseman, however, said he didn”t appreciate Johnson”s “threat” to move the GTPDD out of Starkville.
“It”s not a threat,” Johnson said. “It”s a promise.”
Johnson said no pedestrians traverse the grounds of the industrial park around the GTPDD. Ward 5 Alderman Jeremiah Dumas, however, said more people don”t walk in the area because there are no sidewalks. Wiseman sided with sidewalk supporters.
“We are planting the seeds for a walkable Starkville,” Wiseman said.
Stich also cited statistics from a recent survey, which showed about one third of employees at Ability Works, located near the GTPDD, don”t drive to work. She also cited the nearby National Guard unit and their propensity to jog in the area.
The lack of sidewalks “doesn”t mean a lack of need,” Stich said.
Johnson said he might agree to build the sidewalk if the city would construct a sidewalk west along the remainder of C.C. Clark Road and then head north along Hospital Road to Highway 12 — a distance of more than one mile.
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