MOUNT WASHINGTON – Residents were not happy when a previous rezoning was sought for the Deerwood Drive area off Bardstown Road.
And they weren’t any happier when two tracts owned by the same applicant were up for a rezoning request at the April meeting of the Bullitt County Joint Planning Commission.
Stout Bros. Farm sought to rezone a 96-acre tract from Agricultural to Conservation and a 56-acre tract to the same zoning classification.
Bullitt Fiscal Court will make the final decision on each.
Attorney John Wooldridge said his client went to the Conservation zone so that the lots would be at least three acres in size.
In reality, Wooldridge said he didn’t expect to see more than 30 homes on the larger tract.
The properties run behind the current Deerwood subdivision. He felt that the new development would be served by Deerwood Drive with a second road to Bardstown Road being built in the future.
The final factor in determining the number of homes built would be the health department, which must approve waste disposal systems which will work.
With the second road, it would give an additional access point for the entire subdivision. However, Wooldridge said, it was not feasible to build the new road at the beginning of the construction period.
Several of the residents spoke in opposition to the rezoning request.
Terry Rummage was concerned that more development could lead to more trespassers on farm land that sits adjacent to his property. And he was concerned about the illegal use of Vaughn Road in the future.
Mike Blackburn said that the condition of the current road was a concern. While the county portion of Deerwood Drive is wider, he’s not sure if it is safe or could handle additional traffic.
He asked that the new development not connect to Deerwood Drive to keep it safe for the current residents.
William Ethridge did like the idea of larger Conservation lots. But he didn’t want any of the construction vehicles to use Deerwood Drive.
Commissioner Vernie McGuffin said he was concerned about the possible uses of land zoned for Conservation.
And commissioner Paul Kulmer said he sensed that the use by construction vehicles on the existing road was a concern of many residents.
Wooldridge said he understood the concerns.
The applicant agreed to allowing no mobile homes or double wides on the property.
And Wooldridge said the applicant would make road improvements on the existing Deerwood Drive. Placing a gravel shoulder of up to two feet on both sides would be done prior to construction. But the second road would not be built prior to any work being started.
If the Stout property touches the existing Deerwood Drive, chairman John Miller said there is no way the applicant could be stopped from hooking onto and extending the roadway.
In making a favorable recommendation, McGuffin cited several deed restrictions. Those included the prohibition of any mobile or double-wide homes; setback requirements of an R-1 Residential zoning would be maintained; and Deerwood Drive would have gravel shoulders installed to bring the road to at least 18-foot with the developer required to make sure it is maintained during construction.
The commission voted 7-4, with Lynn Eddington, Tony Thompson, Russell Price and Paul Kulmer in opposition, on both the rezoning requests by Stout Bros. Farm.
Bullitt Fiscal Court will make the final ruling.
In other business:
*JD Contractors and Lawnscaping received a favorable recommendation to rezoning just over 13.5 acres from R-1 Residential to IL Light Industrial.
An attorney for the applicant said that his client is not looking to build any additional structures on the property off Brooks Hill Road.
The property would be used for a landscaping business. Only 3-4 acres of the total request could be developed.
The plan would be to use the existing home for an office. Two barns on the property would be used for the storage of equipment or supplies.
The business would remain a landscaping operation with some tree plantings and some mulch storage.
Robin Gelbach, whose family owned the property, was worried what might happen to the property in the future.
The restrictions placed on the property include having only a landscape business, trees would be undisturbed; and no change would be allowed to the existing trees on the property.
There was no opposition. Bullitt Fiscal Court will make the final decision.
*Greg Krebs was given a favorable recommendation to rezone almost one acre fom R-1 Residential to B-1 Highway Business.
Krebs said he was simply trying to set his daughter up in a business. It would be a salon located off Highway 44 East in Shepherdsville.
No other building could be placed on the lot and Krebs agreed to several deed restrictions.
He agreed to have the business only be used as a salon. Krebs would install a privacy fence along any adjoining residential property and any added exterior lighting would be directional.
There was no opposition. The Shepherdsville City Council will make the final decision.
*Two tracts of property in Lebanon Junction would be rezoned to allow for mini-storage units.
The property – owned by Rebecca Maraman and Richard Murphy – total just shy of two acres on South Preston Highway.
Curt Greenwell said he planned to build possibly three storage units. He felt there was a shortage of storage units in the community and it would be suitable for the area.
The request would be to rezone from R-1 Residential to B-1 Highway Business.
There was no opposition. The Lebanon Junction City Council would make the final decision.
The next meeting of the Bullitt County Joint Planning Commission would be on Thursday, May 9, at 7 p.m. in the courthouse. The public is invited.