Hundreds of Columbus residents showed up to oppose a massive new development. Now what?
The low murmurs grew louder as almost 300 residents from seven Columbus subdivisions filled a meeting hall in Wynnton Methodist Church this month.
The tension mounted as organizers asked people to sign in or add their names to petitions opposing a proposed a large development near their neighborhoods as they entered the room.
Local resident Karen Gaskins worked to find out more about the development coming to 5201 Macon Road. She first was alerted to the pending action after seeing a rezoning request sign on the side of the road indicating that a huge piece of vacation land that had been zoned for single family homes may be changed to planned unit development (PUD), or easier put, it allows for ‘community-serving commercial development.’
Gaskins learned developers proposed a site plan with more than 600, mostly rental, residential units — more than twice the size of her subdivision, Sears Woods. The entrances and exits to the development could significantly impact traffic in seven subdivisions in east Columbus. Those subdivisions affected include:
Farmington
Windtree
Willow Bend
Shenandoah
Chatham Woods
Sheraton Forest
Sears Woods
In a matter of days, with the help of Columbus council member Jerry “Pops” Barnes, Gaskins organized a Feb. 29 meeting among community members, representatives from the developers and city officials.
“I thought it was best to hear from (the developer) and from the city,” Gaskins said. “So we can dispel any rumors or any misinformation.”
Hundreds of Columbus residents attended to voice concerns about traffic and the large number of planned rental units in the tense meeting vowing to organize and oppose the proposed development.
The site plan
Carlos Arenas, a developer with ProTerra Development, which is based in metro Atlanta, said he had never seen so many people attend a public meeting.
“We’d like to hear what you guys think — what you guys want from your neighborhood,” Arenas told the room. “At the end of the day, we’re coming here to your side of town, and we want to make sure we’re doing the best product.”
ProTerra’s published site plan includes about 670 housing units across 115.56 acres broken down as follows:
33 Town Houses for sale
240 apartment units in 10 three-story buildings with 24 units per building
222 units in a four-story senior apartment building
136 Town Houses for rent
39 two-story single family homes
The topography of the area should cover the view of the apartment homes from the existing residential neighborhoods, Arenas said. Every housing unit that would border existing neighborhoods would be single-family housing, he said, whether it is attached or detached.
Along with housing, a ‘neighborhood commercial center’ is planned near the front of the development.
One of the most pressing concerns for current residents were the entrances and exits to the development. Proterra planned a main entrance off Macon Road near the intersection with Woodruff Farm Road and several other connections with what are currently dead end roads in existing neighborhoods.
The dead end roads, which were built more than 50 years ago, most likely were already planned to connect into future neighborhoods, Arenas told the room.
A main road from Macon Road will lead straight to the multifamily units, he said, with the plan being that this new road would service most of the new housing. However, the other roads into the existing subdivisions must be connected because of safety requirements.
“Most likely the other roads connected to the existing street will be used by the single family home residences,” Arenas said. “Which is going to be the same quality as your neighborhood.”
Proterra’s rezoning request first has to be approved by the planning advisory commission before going before the Columbus Council. The PAC meeting is currently scheduled for March 20, according to the city’s zoning checklist for the request.
There’s a reason ‘We don’t live’ in Atlanta
Matt Wyatt, a Columbus-based civil engineer, explained that developers conducted a preliminary traffic study. But the results are not available.
Attendees began interrupting Wyatt’s presentation with more questions about how much developers considered how connecting their streets into the development would impact traffic in their neighborhoods.
Gaskins attempted to settle the crowd, promising representatives for the neighborhood would ask submitted questions. Dr. Marlon Scott, a 20-year resident of Sears Woods, took issue with the proposal.
“I thank you all for coming in from Atlanta and all that,” Scott told Arenas. “I don’t know how they do stuff up there, but there’s a reason we don’t live up there.”
The room burst into cheers. Scott continued to emphasize residents were worried about the increase in traffic because of the danger it could pose to pedestrians.
“We’re concerned because there are a lot of kids in our neighborhood,” Scott said. “There are a lot of elderly people in our neighborhood. There are a lot of buses that come through.”
City council member Charmaine Crabb, who represents District 5, said the majority of calls she receives relate to traffic. The traffic study the city would do as part of the rezoning process could result in more calming measures for the community.
Some of the potential calming measures include stop signs and traffic lights, Crabb said. Attendees began speaking out at the idea of these measures being added to their neighborhood, but Crabb urged residents to see how this could help them.
“There’s all kinds of different traffic measures,” she said. “And I have no idea what they will be, but I think that’s a benefit.”
Plans for commercial and retail space factored into the opposition as well, 20-year Chatham Woods resident Gregory Foster spoke out during the meeting, because this creates more thru-traffic. With more entrances and exits to the neighborhoods and retail bringing in more traffic, it could increase security risks.
“Chatham Woods has one way in and one way out,” Foster said. “I chose that for a reason…security matters to me.”
Transient Renters
Many questions residents asked the developer related to the large number of proposed rental units, including both the town houses and apartment buildings.
Developers are listing many of the town homes as rental properties at first to avoid flooding the housing market, Arenas said. But they ultimately hope to sell all the town homes.
They plan for a third party to take over the management of all the rental properties, Arenas told residents. Currently, it’s too early in the process to determine if any rentals would be affordable housing, he said. There are no city or state laws requiring affordable units in new developments, Columbus planning director Will Johnson told the Ledger-Enquirer.
The planned upscale apartments might be rented for $1,400-$1,500 a month, Arenas said. Town houses are expected to sell for around $250,000 and the single-family homes might be priced between $400,000 - $500,000.
Residents’ concerns about the rental properties and new development isn’t because they don’t want new people coming in, Foster said. When other new neighborhoods were built, he said, people didn’t complain.
“We want homeowners,” he said. “We don’t want a transient community moving in and out, and everything that comes with it.”
A fact finding meeting
Organizers designated seven representatives to ask questions submitted from each of the neighborhoods impacted by the development. Gaskins hoped residents could find out more information about their plans for the neighborhood.
But some residents wanted the meeting to be a moment for them to have their voices heard. Foster, an Army veteran, wanted the opportunity to raise awareness.
Chatham Woods is one of the areas people bring their kids to trick-or-treat during Halloween, he said.
It’s a close-knit community where people care about the neighborhood and make life enjoyable by decorating for the holidays, Foster said, even if they don’t have kids to entertain. Ladies sit outside in their lawn chairs, kids play outside and during holidays, like Halloween, they play music for the community.
Looking at the topography of the area and the options developers have, Foster told the Ledger-Enquirer, the Macon Road development will have a negative impact on the neighborhoods and homeowners.
Foster’s words during the meeting were directed to his neighbors, he said, but they were also directed to the rest of Muscogee County and decision makers.
“I’m letting them know that the people that live there, we don’t want this,” Foster said. “This government is supposed to represent us. It is us, and we resoundingly do not want it.”
Residents of all subdivisions affected are signing petitions asking that the rezoning request be denied, and Foster, along with other residents, are submitting rezone opposition letters to Barnes.
“To the decision-making authorities, I’m telling you right now if you do this against the will of the people, if you make them swallow this poison pill, there’s going to be political repercussions,” Foster said.
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
