MOUNT VERNON — A third proposed housing development is set to go before the Municipal Planning Commission at a special meeting on Thursday, May 4.
Joshua Williams of the Brookes Group is asking the commission to rezone 40 acres on Vernonview Drive from R-1, single-family housing, to R-3, multi-family housing. The request has drawn heavy opposition from area residents.
The parcel is located between Upland Terrace and Woodside Drive, across from the Fairway Condominiums. According to Williams’ application, the vision is for a 232-unit townhome rental community targeted to 25- to 50-year-olds.
The townhome units in Arista Villas are three-story units with three bedrooms, open kitchen, living room, dining area, and space for an office or working space. Both floor plans are between 1,500 to 1,600 square feet. Each unit will have a one- or two-car garage.
The townhomes will be clustered in four, six, or eight-unit structures. Amenities include a community clubhouse, pool, volleyball court, and three miles of walking trails.
According to Brookes Group, the “pricing strategy for individual renters and families will allow them to also save for and graduate to home ownership, further solidifying the demographic, social, and economic growth trends in Mount Vernon for the next 10 to 20 years.”
Rental rates are expected to be at or below $1 per rental square foot, a price Brookes Group says is below the average cost of home ownership.
A 2020 study by the Ohio Fire Chief’s Association identified Coshocton Avenue and Vernonview Drive as the ideal location for a second station. According to the application, the rezoning will provide 6.75 acres to the city to build a three-bay firehouse on Vernonview.
Safety-service Director Richard Dzik acknowledged that based on the study results, city officials met with the owner of the parcel in 2020 “to start a dialogue.” However, Dzik said the city has also identified several other potential locations on the east side for a station, and the city has reached no final decision.
Ultimately, it will be up to city council to approve the purchase of land for a second fire station.
Application documents also state Brookes Group will create an artery road parallel to Coshocton Avenue for travel from Vernonview Drive to Upper Gilchrist Road. The artery road will have a roundabout in the center to slow down traffic traveling between Vernonview and Upper Gilchrist.
Brookes Group is in contract to buy the land from owners Lenor Cochran and Martha Drake. Both Cochran and Drake oppose the planned townhome community.
In letters to city officials, Cochran stated she had no knowledge of the housing density Brookes Group is proposing until she was notified by residents adjacent to the parcel.
“I had only entertained developments consisting of single-family owner-occupied dwellings, and this is the type of development I expected,” she wrote.
Many residents on Upland Terrace, Fairway Drive, Upper Gilchrist, and Colonial Woods Drive join Cochran in opposing the rezoning of the parcel to R-3. Nearly 300 residents have signed a petition requesting the commission to deny the rezoning. Residents plan to submit the petitions to the city on Tuesday.
The special meeting of the planning commission is set for Thursday, May 4, at 4 p.m. at The Station Break, 160 Howard St., Mount Vernon.
