A View Of Development From Residents’ Backyards
For neighbors, unlike other stakeholders, the issues surrounding planning and development are intensely personal and emotional. That’s because many of the most controversial developments in Columbia are happening in their own backyards.
Neighbors share some common ground with developers and the people who represent them. They believe that many aspects of the city planning process are broken and that city government needs more of an overarching plan to guide development, for example.
Despite some areas of agreement, many are frustrated with what they see as an arrogant attitude on the part of the developers. They often distrust the people who want to build near their homes and feel they’re at a disadvantage when fighting those with deep pocketbooks.
The most recent example of the tension between neighbors and developers came during the dispute over the Crosscreek Center proposal. The City Council, after hours of negative feedback from neighbors, ultimately rejected the developers’ request that they be allowed to put a car dealership on land at the eastern end of Stadium Boulevard. The council, in denying the proposal, directed the developers to seek more neighborhood input.
Many citizens count the Crosscreek vote as a victory for neighbors, establishing them as a group that deserves more credibility. But it’s certainly not the first time that neighbors have gone up against a developer. Julie Youmans, president of the Grindstone/Rock Quarry Neighborhood Association, said the lessons learned during every development dispute are important to neighborhoods, which usually have only one shot at making a difference in their areas.
“Once our street has been changed and overhauled, the issue is over for us,†Youmans said. “We’re not professional planners, so we don’t get to use what we learned on the next project. This is the project.â€
Cautious optimism
When Allen Hahn, chairman of the Woodridge Neighborhood Association, talks about the developers of the Silver Oak Senior Living Center, he uses language that emphasizes the developer’s plans are only promises. The plan calls for four buildings altogether — two medical centers, an assisted living center and a building of apartments for seniors — on 11.25 acres of forest land.
Hahn’s neighborhood has had sour relationships with developers. On a street east of the neighborhood, new duplexes with fresh tan siding pop up behind the back yards of long-term residents. In a neighborhood where many can’t see their neighbors’ homes through the dense tree cover, Hahn points to the scattering of trees behind the duplexes as evidence of the area’s problems with development.
“They really haven’t been very sensitive to the neighborhood at all, and they have not finished with what they were supposed to do as far as screening is concerned,†Hahn said of the people building the duplexes. “That is still an issue, and we are still working with the city on that.â€
The relationship between the Woodridge Neighborhood Association and the Oklahoma-based developers of Silver Oaks has mostly been smooth. They’ve held numerous meetings, and many of the neighbors’ wishes have been incorporated into the plan. Changes included moving the assisted living building farther back from the property line and preserving as many trees as possible by placing part of the forest in a trust with the city.
But, because of the past experience with the duplexes, Hahn said he still can’t bring himself to fully trust the developers. So last week when the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the Silver Oaks plan and rezoning request, Hahn said he reluctantly agreed.
“The letter of intent, which they have submitted, includes everything that we have asked them to do,†Hahn said. “This is why we’re cautiously optimistic. … They said when they first met with us: ‘We want to be good neighbors.’â€
Although Hahn would prefer to see the forest remain, he recognizes that Silver Oaks might be the best his neighborhood can get.
“It would be easy to be a naysayer. But something’s going to go in there,†Hahn said. “It’s zoned R-1 at the moment, but they could put up to 30 single family homes in there, and I don’t think we’d like what would go in there in single-family homes.â€
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