Oakland stalls subdivision application

The Oakland Town Commission has postponed a vote on a preliminary site plan for a new subdivision south of West Colonial Drive because of lack of information from the applicant.

At the Aug. 9 commission meeting, elected officials were presented with the preliminary plan for Bayview at Johns Lake, a proposed seven-acre, 20-home community at the south end of Remington Road. An extensive discussion followed.

Applicant Ed Durruthy described Bayview as a boutique residential community with three 80-foot-wide lakefront lots and the interior lots averaging 70 feet; the three lots would measure 220 to 250 feet in length, and the others would measure 125 feet. Ashton Woods would be the builder and would using the same housing plans to be used in the upcoming Briley Farms project.

Several residents in attendance at the meeting were opposed to the neighborhood, which would abut their community of Johns Landing. They complained of the smaller lot sizes, the increase in traffic the community would bring to Remington Road and the invasion of their privacy.

They also said the 80-foot-wide lakefront lots were too small in comparison to others on the lake and the three docks would be too close to one another.

A wrought-iron fence currently separates Johns Landing from the proposed neighborhood. A landscape buffer was suggested, but some Johns Landing residents want something more substantial.

“I just don’t feel like this is buttoned up enough for us to make an informed decision with the too many variables that have been discussed,” Mayor Kathy Stark said. “I think there are some open issues that need to be addressed … I don’t think the P&Z should have pushed it to us in this condition.”

If the project continues in the future, the developer, Venue Development LLC, would agree to dedicating a lift station tract to the town, creating two points of connection to the town’s water system, construct onsite and offsite sewer, construct sidewalks, and reconstruct a portion of Remington Road.

No date was set for the project to come back to the commission.

MORATORIUM ON MULTIFAMILY HOUSING EXTENDED

Commissioners approved a 180-day extension of the temporary moratorium they set on multi-family housing applications. The moratorium, originally established in February, was set to expire Aug. 22.

“There are a few more steps we would like to go through before we lift the moratorium,” Town Manager Steve Koontz said. “It can be shortened by resolution if we get through this quicker.”

“What we are doing is extending the moratorium on … apartments until we can get a handle on what’s coming at us and how we respond to it,” Stark said. “That’s another good six months of … not taking any more applications.”

RESIDENTIAL TO COMMERCIAL

The commission approved the rezoning and future land-use map change for the property at 302 E. Oakland Ave. The land was rezoned from R-1A Single-Family Residential to C-1 Commercial, and Ideal Builder 5 LLC will use the former home as an office for a brokerage and property management business.

Pastor Joe Reeves, who lives next to the property expressed concern that it would negatively affect his home value.

“I’ve been in the town of Oakland for years and years,” he said. “Now I have this commercial. … All I know is it won’t be consistent with the homes in the area. … I just don’t know how this is going to impact me. Will there be landscaping or a wall? I just want to make sure that if I go to sell my property I won’t be impacted.”

Brad Cornelius, Oakland’s contracted town planner, said the building lies within the town’s Gateway Corridor, which applies stricter guidelines for architecture, landscape and other design characteristics.

Stark assured Reeves it will be “a very small residential-looking office with very small parking, very small impact.”