MOUNT VERNON — Affordable residential housing on infill lots was one of the goals when the city updated its zoning code in 2024. On Thursday, the Mount Vernon Municipal Planning Commission granted conditional uses for two projects that fulfill that goal.
Beau Hord of BHB Interior Solutions proposes constructing a two-building, six-unit rental complex on North Jackson Street. The lots are zoned residential.
Chuck Rogers, in conjunction with Hord, proposes a two-building, six-unit complex at 109 Franklin St. The complex is called Walnut Gardens.
Sanitary sewer, stormwater, and water services are available to both sites.
The conditional uses require construction to start within a year. Rogers and Hord will build the projects simultaneously to lower construction costs and increase efficiency.
North Jackson Street
The project spans five parcels. However, the buildings will sit on two parcels; the northern parcel will remain green space.
“What we’re trying to do is bring more housing into Mount Vernon,” Hord said. “Instead of buying old, we decided to build new to try to keep rents available and everything kind of built by locals.”
Building 1 includes a two-bedroom, one-bath unit flanked by one-bedroom, one-bath units. It will sit on the southern lot line and face north toward the levee.
Building 2 includes one three-bedroom, one-bath unit and two one-bedroom, one-bath units. It will sit on the western lot line.
The one-bedroom units will face east toward Jackson Street. The three-bedroom unit will face north toward the levee.
Hord said the unit mix provides housing options in a small, cohesive residential community for individuals, couples, and families without altering the neighborhood’s character.
Hord and his wife, Courtney Culbertson, have multiple other rentals.
“Our normal goal is single mothers. … We try to keep our rents below average, or right at the average,” Hord said.
Average pricing for a two-bedroom unit is around $1,400, according to Hord.
The complex is not subsidized housing.
Neighbors say ‘it’s a lot of housing’
Neighbors Paula Walton, Carol McMahon, and Monica Smith oppose the complex.
“That’s a lot of housing when we’re used to seeing deer and squirrels back there,” Walton said.
McMahan was concerned whether previously vacated alleys would be reopened; they will not. Tenants will access the complex via Jackson Street.
“I hate to see this happen, quite frankly, but it’s not my property,” Smith said. “But it is a really quiet little neighborhood down through there, and I don’t want to see that destroyed.”
The structures are approximately seven inches below the floodplain. Hord plans to spread extra excavation dirt around the structures to elevate them above the floodplain.
Storm water would migrate to the north lot, which is a low spot and will remain unchanged.
Regarding Hord’s concern about delays in working with FEMA since the property is in the floodplain, City Inspector Scott Zimmerman said the city has leeway to grant an extension.
Commission member and Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers told Hord that if site preparation causes runoff onto another property, Hord is responsible for correcting it.
He also told residents that if they have issues with noise or property maintenance, they can contact the city’s code enforcement department.
Salyers said housing aimed at single mothers or those who cannot afford a $400,000 house is “the missing middle piece that we desperately need for people to graduate and move into a new home.”
“I look forward to supporting this and seeing more stuff like this. That’s why we redid the zoning code, and I’m happy to see this happen. But I can also appreciate the other side of seeing the deer.”
109 Franklin St.
Amanda Shufelberger owns the property at 109 Franklin St., which is zoned General Business. Row housing is a conditional use in GB districts.
Shufelberger’s husband, Chuck Rogers, is developing the site along with Hord. He noted that although it is zoned General Business, it is not a good spot for a business because of the adjacent houses.
Housing consists of two triplex units. Each building has a two-bedroom, one-bath unit flanked by a one-bedroom, one-bath unit.
The buildings sit on the east and west property lines, facing a community courtyard in the center. Each unit will have a covered front porch.
Parking is along the front of the property, but off of Franklin Street. Sidewalks lead from the parking area to the units.
According to Hord, the complex targets those aged 55 and over. The application states the project is “geared toward older adults and disabled renters who struggle with finding affordable housing.”
However, Rogers said his target audience is single moms or maybe a mother with one child.
“That’s why we’re only doing one-bedroom units and two-bedroom units, so we don’t have a lot of kids,” he said. “In my experience, it’s single women that, after their kids have left the house, they end up getting a divorce and they’re looking for single housing — and that’s hard to find in this town.”
Rogers said the one-bedroom units will rent for $950 to $1,000 a month. The two-bedroom units will be $1,200.
Parking and safety concerns
Chester Street neighbor James Dean was concerned about overflow parking for holidays or friends.
Rogers said tenants are allowed only 1.5 parking spots for single units and two parking spots for two-bedroom units.
Dean was also concerned about youths jumping fences or cutting through neighbors’ homes to reach McDonald’s and other businesses on North Sandusky Street.
“I know how young people are. I was one. They like to cut through people’s yards, climb fences,” he said.
Rogers said he will extend an existing six-foot wood fence across the back and connect it to the existing chain-link fence.
Ultimately, he wants to install a fence so tenants can keep small pets.
Salyers noted that, since the area is zoned GB rather than residential, the city should take stock of streetlights and work with AEP to improve safety.
Hord plans to request several variances at the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting on March 18:
•Reduce parking lot and rear setbacks.
•Lower square footage requirements.
•Reduce parking spaces from 10 to nine.