MOUNT VERNON — By a 4-3 vote, city council members supported rezoning land on the city’s far east side to planned neighborhood development (PND.)
The 33.89 acres are on Upper Gilchrist Road, adjacent to Rockford Construction’s multi-family development. Rockford broke ground on its PND in July.
Council members Mike Hillier, Janis Seavolt, and Tammy Woods voted against the rezoning ordinance.
The Municipal Planning Commission voted in October to recommend rezoning the land from R-1 single-family housing to PND. Council needed at least six votes to overrule MPC’s recommendation.
The ordinance includes an emergency clause, which means the ordinance takes effect on the mayor’s signature. Without the emergency clause, the ordinance takes effect 30 days after passage.
Hillier moved to amend the ordinance and strike the emergency clause. Council defeated the amendment by a 5-2 vote.
Hillier and Woods cast the dissenting votes.
The ordinance was up for its third reading at Monday’s meeting. Council held a public hearing prior to its legislative session.
Public hearing
During the hearing, residents voiced concerns about the development becoming subsidized housing, the need for multi-family vs. single-family units, and where the residents will come from who will live in the apartments.
Residents also mentioned traffic, rental amounts, tax revenue, and buffers between the PND and existing homes.
Patrick Mackie of Lemmon Development said buffers will be included, and he is open to discussing them with neighbors. Details will become more specific as the company moves from the conceptual phase to the comprehensive plan phase.
Rents range between $1,200 and $2,300 a month. He noted Lemmon Development does not build subsidized housing. Additionally, he said that if council approves the comprehensive plan, the company is obligated to build what is in the plan.
Neil McIlvoy, Upper Gilchrist Road, also questioned the city’s plan for fire/EMS coverage for this and surrounding developments. City Safety-service Director Tanner Salyers said he hopes to announce those plans by the end of the year.
Eastgate Drive resident Gary Koester opposed the zoning change.
“I don’t think we want to become or develop the culture like what we see down in Columbus. It would ruin the character and heritage of Mount Vernon,” he told council.
Koester recommended the city suspend further development until the city demonstrates it has a handle on how to address infrastructure, school, and traffic problems.
When will Upper Gilchrist Road be fixed?
Upper Gilchrist Road resident Ron Sheets reiterated an oft-repeated concern about congestion at the Upper Gilchrist/Coshocton Avenue intersection.
“What are we going to do about this street?” he asked. “You can’t even get out of there now half the time, and the houses aren’t even built. … It’s going to be an impossible situation if we don’t get that intersection changed.
“Are we going to have to wait until this development goes in before we get something done?”
The city plans to widen the northern side of Upper Gilchrist Road to three lanes, matching the southern side. The widening will extend to the city’s corporation line, just north of Schlabach Builders.
The project is currently in design.
Money from the Coshocton Avenue TIF (tax increment financing) district will pay for the improvements. The fund has enough money to cover the cost.
Mount Vernon resident Don Carr advocated for a policy similar to Michigan’s.
“There was a vision. … The roads were built before any dirt was moved,” he told council.
Councilman Mel Severns noted that neither Rockford nor Lemmon will build all of their units at once. Each plans a phase-in over the next two to three years.
“So we have time to deal with the traffic,” he said during council’s legislative session.
However, he also agreed with Carr that having roads laid out in advance is smart.
“We have got to get that road improved soon,” he said of Upper Gilchrist. “Yes, we’re in planning, but we’ve got to get it done soon because there’s a lot of building going on out there now, and we don’t have a good road out there. It should have been done.”
Where will the residents come from to fill the units?
The development is targeted, but not restricted, to the 55 and older age group. Marsha Kelso questioned where these people will come from, noting it is doubtful they will stem from Intel as Intel will not be hiring that age demographic.
Upper Gilchrist Road resident Marsha Kelso voices concerns at the April 25, 2022, Mount Vernon City Council meeting relating to rezoning 38 acres to accommodate a 496-unit multi-family apartment complex. Concerns included traffic, landscaping, and the effect rezoning will have on the school system.
Additionally, several council members questioned whether the city was getting too many apartment units.
According to Jeff Gottke, Area Development Foundation president, the 55+ age group in Knox County grew by 12 percent since 20216.
“These people aren’t coming from outside of Knox County. They’re already here, and they need a place to live,” he said.
Gottke said that for that demographic, moving into units such as those Lemmon Development plans frees up single-family homes.
He does not disagree that the county needs more single-family homes. However, he said current construction costs favor rentals, which provides an opportunity to get quality, affordable rental units.
Mackie also noted that the 55+ demographic does not lend itself to adding students to the school district.
As to the need for multi-family housing, Gottke said, “People want to rent. We can’t tell them what type of house to want. If people want to rent a house, there should be a quality, affordable place to rent in the city.”
Noting that “we are not the ministers of housing,” Gottke said the market determines the amount of units needed. If the market cannot sustain more apartments, Rockford and Lemmon will stop building.
“Your job,” he told council, “is to see if what [Lemmon] wants to do here fits in with the vision that the city has created for itself.”
What about property taxes?
Several residents were concerned about the lack of property tax revenue from rental units vs. single-family homes.
Lemmon Development will pay property taxes on the units. Hillier pointed out that renters indirectly pay property taxes because landlords typically factor taxes into the rental price.
The city will derive income tax from residents in the development.
