The Boone County Planning Commission struck down a real estate developer’s zone change request after they concluded the company’s development plan didn’t align with the county’s comprehensive plan.
On Wednesday, the planning commission recommended the denial of a zoning amendment request to change the designation for a 3.2-acre area of land located west of Grand National Boulevard in Walton, between Davis Lane and Overland Ridge.
The Myers Y. Cooper Company — a Cincinnati-based property developer — was the party behind the zone change request. Myers Y. Cooper planned to build three commercial buildings on the site pending the zoning amendment.
Myers Y. Cooper has developed other retail shopping centers in the past. Their portfolio includes commercial developments like Montgomery Square and Wooster at Walton Creek in Cincinnati.
Corrin Gulick, vice chairwoman of the planning commission, speculated the potential building areas outlined in the concept plan could eventually become drive-thru fast-food restaurants. In the concept plan, two of the three buildings included drive-thru slots.
Myers Y. Cooper Vice President Jeff Baumgarth said the company was willing to compromise with the commission, offering to limit the number of potential franchise-style fast food restaurants in the development.
“What seemed to be the biggest hurdle for the committee was the proposed restriction for franchise style fast food uses on the entire development,” Baumgarth said. “Even though that definition is objective and open to interpretation, our compromise was to limit the food service drive-thru for users to one of three parcels.”
Geraldine Miracle, a property owner with land adjacent to the proposed development, spoke against the zoning amendment, arguing the development would be too close to her property.
“I am totally and completely opposed and so is my husband,” Miracle said. “That’s just entirely too close to our property for whatever we choose to use it for.”
In addition, Miracle said that she and her husband operate a rental property on the land and are worried about how the development would affect their future rental prospects. As a longtime resident, she worried the development would harm the surrounding scenery.
“I have lived on Richwood Road in that house for 46 years so I’ve seen a lot of development — some good, some not so good,” Miracle told the commission.
Another qualm of the commission was the development’s potentially negative impact on local traffic. Gulick said Myers Y. Cooper would not agree to certain conditions that would mitigate traffic along Richwood Road.
From her perspective, the proposed development wouldn’t set a good precedent for future commercial development on Richwood Road.
“It was a culmination of everything,” Gulick said “This sets a precedent for development along Richwood Road. It’s in the corner of a high visibility area on a roundabout in a well-established area so it has to look nice, it has to operate well and there was no vision of what it was going to look like.”
Looking forward, the recommendation for denial heads to the Boone County Fiscal Court, where the body can either vote to agree or override the planning commission’s recommendation. The next fiscal court meeting is slated for Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m. It will be held at the Boone County Administrative Building at 2950 Washington St. in Burlington.
