MOUNT VERNON — The city’s Municipal Planning Commission approved a recommendation Thursday to rezone nearly 34 acres on Upper Gilchrist Road.
The parcel is primarily zoned R-1, single-family residential. An eastern portion is zoned PND. Lemmon Development requested a change to all PND.
Lemmon has contracted to buy the 34 acres from Casey’s Way LLC.
Patrick Mackie, director of operations for Lemmon, said plans call for a 156-unit community.
“We’re excited for the potential to bring another project to the City of Mount Vernon,” he said. “Our last project, The Danbury at Mount Vernon, opened in August 2022.
“The development process in the first year of operations has exceeded our expectations, which is why we are so eager to bring another project to the city.”
Mackie said the development’s targeted audience is ages 55 and up.
Preliminary plans call for duplexes, villas, and four eight-unit single-story apartments. Aside from the eight-unit apartments, all units will have attached garages.
Lemmon also plans to build a community clubhouse.
Units range from one-bedroom units around 700 square feet to two-bedroom villas around 1,300 square feet with attached garage.
“These are concepts that have not been finalized. Market conditions will influence our final design,” Mackie said.
The rental price is estimated around $1.75 per square foot. Lemmon estimates project construction and investment is $30 million to $32 million.
Brookwood Management will manage the development’s day-to-day operations.
Storm water will be retained on the property. Roads within the development will be private; utilities will be public.
Community response
Jerry Yates owns the property east of the 34-acre parcel. His concerns include chemicals in the water runoff that might affect his private well and pond.
Noting he would like to see numbers that support multi-housing units vs. single-family homes, he said, “No one takes care of rentals like they take care of their own properties.”
“I do not object to putting in single-family houses. I do object to apartments and multi-family housing. I am really worried about people coming onto my property,” he told the commission members.
Mount Vernon residents Don Carr and Gary Koester opposed the rezoning.
Carr noted nearly 500 units are going in at Coshocton Road and Upper Gilchrist. Lemmon’s proposed 156 units bring additional traffic to the area.
“We know we have close to 700 cars that are going to be coming to the Rockford property when that’s developed,” he said. “Now we’re asking for more.
“I think we should put a moratorium on this kind of development for the moment and see how everything plays out on Upper Gilchrist, Newark Road, and possibly Martinsburg Road if that is developed.”
Carr referenced potential development on Vernonview Drive that could add to the traffic congestion on Coshocton Avenue.
“I think the city needs to continue to think how it’s going to plan for the next 10 years with all of these developments that are coming in,” Koester said, adding that traffic, school, and emergency service issues are among those the city needs to consider. “I don’t see any document that lays this out.”
Mackie said PND zoning allows the city more control over the project and noted the city is working on traffic and other issues.
He also said the targeted 55+ age group is unlikely to wander onto others’ properties and will not affect school enrollment.
MPC comment
City Engineer Brian Ball said the city extended full city services to the site and has ample capacity to supply those services.
Relating to traffic, the city began the design phase for Upper Gilchrist Road from Coshocton Avenue north to the city limits. Improvements include traffic signals, turn lanes, a sidewalk on the west side, and a bike path on the east side.
Construction involves removing road bumps to improve sight distance and installing curb and gutter. When it is completed, Ball said northern Upper Gilchrist will look similar to the southern part of the road, only better.
Law Director Rob Broeren said that while funding is not yet available, the city did create an NCA (New Community Authority). An NCA is a way to ensure “growth pays for growth.”
“This development will be eligible to join that and help pay for the city services,” he said.
Mayor Matt Starr said he likes the added control with a PND.
He also said the rezoning “checks a lot of the boxes on the comprehensive plan” because it keeps the growth within the city limits where infrastructure already exists.
History
The city annexed the land in June 2014 under an Expedited Type 2 annexation request from Dr. Rodney and Debbie Beckett. The acreage totaled 85 acres.
In August 2014, the MPC approved rezoning the 85 acres from agriculture to a mix of single-family residential (59 acres) , general business (12 acres) and planned neighborhood districts (13 acres).
Rockford Construction requested a zoning change to R3 in March 2022 for 38 acres. That land is now home to The Retreat at Mount Vernon, a proposed 496-unit apartment complex.
Phase 1 is under construction and consists of nine buildings, including a 6,000-square-foot clubhouse with a swimming pool, rec room, covered patio in the back, and a parcel room for Amazon deliveries.
The remaining 12 acres in the original 85-acre parcel remain zoned general business. It fronts on Coshocton Road.
