By Terry Schrimscher, For The Tribune
SPRINGVILLE — The Springville City Council met for the first regular meeting of April on Monday night, April 4. Two zoning proposals from the second March meeting returned to the agenda.
One proposal concerned a neighborhood named The Haven, which was to be located near the Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve—a Forever Wild property located near Murphree’s Valley Road in Springville.
Dean Goforth and City Attorney James Hill addressed the zoning request in the work session prior to the meeting. Goforth serves as Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Committee.
The development would rezone one piece of property and also annex and rezone unincorporated property owned by Betty Bettis. Both properties would be rezoned as PUD (Planned Unit Development). This property lies north and east of Old Mill Road and north of Robinson Street behind the historic district of downtown.
“Originally, when this started, it was a much bigger project,” Goforth said. “I feel like we did a very good job of asking for changes. [They did a good job of] listening and exchanging ideas. It was about somebody listening to what the city wanted and addressing those needs,” he said.
The project was first proposed with as many as 484 homes but was later reduced to 246 homes. In the public hearing on March 21, citizens shared some concerns about the increased traffic in the area, school crowding, water pollution, and home sizes.
No motion was made to vote on the proposal, which effectively killed the zoning requests.
Another item first addressed in the March 21 meeting involved the rezoning of the Bagley/Clements property near Spring Valley Church on US Hwy 11 from A-1 agricultural to I-1 industrial.
Trey Massey, owner of Massey Asphalt Paving, had proposed building offices, storefronts, and an equipment storage facility on the land. When the item came up for discussion, Mayor Thomas said Massey had withdrawn the request and was seeking other property in the area.
The Council voted to approve goal recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Board as part of the city’s master plan. The plans include building new roads to connect high traffic areas of the city to ease existing traffic and create more infrastructure in the city.
In other business, the Council approved:
- A back-to-school sales tax holiday.
- A resolution to request an opinion from the Alabama Attorney General on requirements for amending city council districts.
City Attorney Hill made a recommendation to create a new management position to oversee the Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve.
Mayor Dave Thomas presented Police Chief Wayne Walton with an award honoring him as 2022 Honor Guard Member of the Year.
The next meeting will be on April 18.