Planning Commission recommends denial of Pumphouse Road property rezoning

After months of meetings, the Mountain Brook Planning Commission voted to recommend denial of rezoning the Wales Goebel site at 2908 Pumphouse Road. The announcement at the Sept. 5 planning commission meeting was met with much applause from audience members who, throughout the evening, had expressed their opposition of the commercial project that Shannon Waltchack had proposed.

Under the proposed project, Derek Waltchack of Shannon Waltchack said Shannon Waltchack would purchase the Wales Goebel site. A quarter of the parcel is in Mountain Brook, while the remaining 75 percent is in Jefferson County.

The company proposed a 9,000-square-foot development including a storefront and office space, the total of which would be annexed into Mountain Brook. Potential tenants included a doctor’s office, boutique shops and office space among others, Waltchack said.

Because residents and members of the planning commission were concerned that a restaurant could draw unwanted traffic, noise and light pollution to the area, Waltchack said he agreed to limit food options to stores whose kitchens would be operational without a grease trap or a fan, such as coffee shops.

Upon purchase and annexation, Shannon Waltchack requested that the parcel be rezoned from residential to commercial as a Planned Unit Development, or a PUD, to allow for the development.

Waltchack said it made sense to bring the whole parcel into the city if purchased, but that the development needed to be economically feasible, which made the commercial rezoning necessary. He and other members of the project said residential development would not sell in the area because it was so close to U.S. 280 and said that under a PUD, Shannon Waltchack would be unable to further develop the untouched areas of the site in the future.

“It’s actually a good thing for the city, because so much is locked down on the site,” Waltchack said. Parts of the undeveloped site would be landscaped using trees and shrubs to help create buffers between the residents of the area and the development, he said.

They also provided a traffic study completed by Skipper Consulting. Under the study, Skipper Consulting stated the proposed development would not have a significant impact on peak hour traffic volumes.

Commissioners as well as residents remained opposed to commercial rezoning.

“I know we’ve gone through a lot of talk to try to get a workable solution, but what it boils down to is it’s just a commercial development that’s using a PUD,” said commissioner and City Council liaison Phil Black. “It does qualify for a PUD … but based on the city’s land use plan, it’s residential. And nothing mitigates that in my book."

Other residents agreed, stating the neighborhood needed to be kept as a residential area, and they were concerned the precedent that rezoning the property may set. Ricky Bromberg reiterated his statement from the last Planning Commission meeting, requesting that the city leave the area as a residential zone, and resident Sue Watkins said that landscaping can’t protect her or her home from added noise, traffic and light pollution.

“It’s residential for a reason and y’all have a big decision and you’re on this [Planning Commission] because people trust your decision,” she said. “None of you would want this to happen to your property, your neighborhood.”

Neighboring resident Brad Cain was also opposed to the project, but said that if it were going to be developed, he preferred that it be done so by Shannon Waltchack.

“I don’t want anything to happen or change with the current property,” he said. “But in the event that it [the project] is approved … I would prefer them to do it.”

Because the site is for sale, commissioner Mike Mouron said he believes the parcel will eventually be developed, most likely sooner rather than later.

“The property has been for sale for quite some time. It is my understanding that Wales Goebel is anxious to sell it,” he said. “As the price drops, other things become financially feasible, not necessarily a first class development.”

He suggested that residents “get behind what they will support,” and possibly approach Shannon Waltchack with ideas, although additional residents stated they were against development of the property.

The commission voted 4-2 to recommend denial of the request to rezone the parcel, with commissioners Mike Mouron and Jamie Gregory voting in favor of the request. Commissioner Cay Alby recused herself from the vote.

The request will now go in front of the City Council for approval or denial, with the Planning Commission’s recommendation of denial.

The Planning Commission will meet again on Oct. 2.

This article was updated on Sept. 6 at 7:55 a.m. to reflect the correct number of votes.