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Garden homes, townhomes coming for Husky Parkway

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Rendering courtesy of the City of Trussville

Husky Parkway will soon be home to townhomes.

The Trussville City Council on June 14 approved the rezoning of various Husky Parkway properties from agricultural to qualified garden residential, commercial and townhouses. Councilmembers Alan Taylor, Ben Short and Perry Cook voted for the rezoning, while councilmembers Lisa Bright and Jaime Melton Anderson voted against it. 

The rezoning, according to the approved ordinance, included these properties:

The commercial zoning comes with the stipulated prohibition on animal hospitals. The qualified residential garden zoning includes these stipulations:

Little Goose Development LLC is the developer for the property. A rendering of the proposed plan shows 60 townhomes, the maximum allowed for zoning for townhomes. That number, according to Short, could decrease. The number of garden homes will also not exceed 60 homes.

Short said the land involved was owned by Deerfoot Baptist Church and NorthPark Baptist Church, both of which supported the development. 

“Our job – well, at least how I approach my position on the council and on Planning & Zoning – is to determine and weigh in on what is the highest and best use of the land,” he said. “Additionally, we are tasked with working with developers, negotiating or by providing feedback rather, in an effort to get the best possible project that conforms to the highest and best use while ensuring that we don’t intentionally infringe on the rights of property owners.”

Short said the homes will be managed by a homeowner’s association, which will be responsible for all the landscaping and exterior upkeep of the units. He said this is to ensure the properties “don’t fall into a state of disrepair.”

“Those high HOA fees coupled with a price point of $400,000 for each unit are just a few of the significant differences between this development and Grayson Valley that everyone keeps using as their primary comparison,” Short said. “Our city needs a healthy mix of housing types for our growing and diverse population.”

Short said that research he conducted outlined that the impact on nearby Hewitt-Trussville High School and Paine Elementary School will be “extremely minimal” as it relates to the townhomes. 

“The primary demographics for this housing type typically are retirees, young adults, and young professionals without children, which wouldn’t add a significant number of students to our system,” Short said. “Having a high price point coupled with high HOAs, as proposed, minimizes the risk that this just turns into a large rental area/apartment style mentality.”

Also considered to be “minimal” is the traffic impact on Husky Parkway, Short said.  

“Those residing within this community traveling to downtown for work will also have quick access to the interstate due to its proximity, which also mitigates traffic within the Highway 11 corridor, Chalkville Mountain Road and downtown Trussville,” Short said. 

Anderon said she can’t at this time support new townhomes or additional multi-family homes in Trussville.

“I understand property owners wanting the best price for their land, but city-wide factors such as traffic and our many unfinished subdivisions compel me to take a very cautious approach to new zoning requests that include multi-family structures of any kind,” she said.

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