The Clinton County Board of Commissioners is sending a request to rezone 48 acres of land in St. Johns for a new 324-unit apartment complex back to the planning commission.
Commissioners voted unanimously Monday morning to seek more information from the developers seeking the rezoning as some nearby residents raised concerns about the impact such a development would have on traffic and drains. Residents noted the development could include nearly 700 parking spaces.
The land is at the northeast corner of Wildcat Road, a dead-end road lined with trees and large houses. There’s little traffic compared to M-21 and Old US-127, which are both about a mile away.
Meredith Goodman said her house is surrounded on three sides by the property.
She said developing it as apartments, rather than maintaining its current zoning for single-family residential units, would change the character of the community.
“One of the fundamental purposes of zoning is predictability, and that is missing here,” Goodman said.
Daniel Wagner is an attorney representing the developers.
He said the 324-unit apartment complex would increase traffic by about one more vehicle per minute than if the land were developed as 100 single-family units.
"If there's any capacity issues, we either have to walk away or change the proposed development," Wagner said. "So, for instance, if traffic says we can't handle 324 units, the developer has to improve the road somehow to handle 324 units or reduce the number of units. It's not like we just build it."
Officials are not considering a specific proposal yet, because the planning commission cannot accept an application for a development outside the acceptable land uses for that area. That means the zoning change would need to be approved first.
The commission could address some community concerns during the site plan review process once a development has been officially proposed.
But Clinton County Commissioner Robert Showers said he wants developers to provide more details to the planning commission about the concept that spurred the rezoning request.
“Explain to them why it makes sense,” Showers said. “And if it makes sense to me, I will vote against them. But for now, you need to explain to them why it makes sense.”
The Clinton County Planning Commission will hold its next meeting Sept. 10. The next meeting of the Clinton County Board of Commissioners is set for Sept. 29.
