Athens City Council members sided with residents this week when they rejected a developer’s request to begin its two-phase multifamily development off Lindsay Lane rather than Kelli Drive.

Council President Frank Travis and council members Chris Seibert, Wayne Harper and Harold Wales voted against the developer’s request to change the order of the development, which is located north of Whitfield Subdivision.

On March 19, the Athens Planning Commission partially approved a request by Land LD Athens Lindsay Lane LLC to amend its existing master plan of multifamily rezoning. The development in question is on 23.5 acres west of Lindsay Lane south and immediately north of Whitfield Colony Subdivision in an R2 Multiple-Family Residential District. The developer had asked the commission for permission to change the master development plan. The developer asked to make the following changes:

• Add carports and garages;

• Reorient the clubhouse; and

• Switch the two phases so Phase 1 would start off Lindsay Lane rather than Kelli Drive and Phase 2 would start off Kelli Drive rather than Lindsay Lane.

Residents living in the area opposed the request to rephase the development because they believed it would increase traffic on an already overcrowded Lindsay Lane before the city had time to address the problem. Residents also argued the matter had already been settled by the Planning Commission and City Council in 2018, when the developer agreed Phase 1 would begin off Kelli Drive and Phase 2 off Lindsay Lane.

History

In December 2018, Athens City Council members approved the master development plan with the first phase of multifamily development off Kelli Drive and the second phase off Lindsay Lane. One of the issues at the time was giving the city time to try to deal with mounting traffic congestion on Lindsay Lane.

During the March 19 Planning Commission meeting, several residents of Whitfield Subdivision spoke against the developer’s request to rephase the development.

“Citizens were really in an uproar over the original request, and we negotiated with the council and the developer, who lent concessions,” Garrett Crask said. “The reason the phases were flipped was to give the City Council time to deal with Lindsay Lane. We negotiated with the developer and we had an agreement — Phase 1 should come off Kelli Drive and Phase 2 off Lindsay Lane at a later date.”

The Planning Commission partially approved the developer’s request, giving the go-ahead for carports and garages and the reorientation of the clubhouse but rejecting the request to change the phases. Knowing the matter would come before the City Council, the Planning Commission recommended the council reject the request to rephase the development.