By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Staff Writer

HELENA – Developers of a proposed Helena subdivision along the Cahaba River withdrew their rezoning request after Helena residents packed into city hall to voice their displeasure on Monday, Aug. 26.

According to Mason Lake, a land acquisition manager with D.R. Horton, the proposed subdivision, The Haven at Cahaba, would feature 948 homes in five sectors. The homes would be up to 3,000 square feet and would range in price from $300,000 to $400,000, pending current market conditions.

In addition to the houses, the development would feature a grand entry monument, a clubhouse, a pool and extensive sidewalks for walkability. Lake also shared that the density would be approximately two homes per acre, with 40 percent of the site remaining as undisturbed green space.

“This is not a very dense site for a master plan community such as this,” Lake said. “This community (is one) I would be really excited to live in.”

The proposed subdivision would be built on a parcel of land along the Cahaba River that is currently zoned as an A1 agricultural district. In order to develop this land, the parcel would have to be rezoned from an agricultural district to a residential district.

The request to rezone the land parcel went before the Helena Planning and Zoning Committee at a meeting on Aug. 15, but was denied.

After receiving a negative recommendation from the planning and zoning meeting, the rezoning request went before the Helena City Council at their meeting on Monday, Aug. 26.

In response, residents of Helena arrived at city hall in droves to voice their displeasure at the potential development of the land. Citizens filled every seat in the council chambers, with some electing to stand or sit on the floor. In addition, there was a group of individuals in attendance wearing “The Haven at Cahaba” lanyards.

Several residents took to the stand to share their concerns regarding the development, citing their belief that the city infrastructure could not handle a population increase as well as fear of possible repercussions on the Cahaba River.

Ultimately, the Helena City Council moved to accept the request to annex the land into the city of Helena, but deny the rezoning of the land into a residential district. In response, Lake, as the representative of the developers, withdrew the rezoning request before the council could vote on it.

If the council had denied the rezoning request, the developers would have had to wait a period of time up to a year before they could resubmit the rezoning request. But because they withdrew the request, the developers could resubmit the request at any time.

With this knowledge, residents addressed the Helena City Council and shared why they oppose the development and what they believe the city should consider if the developers attempt to rezone the land at a later date.

One resident who lives close to the proposed development site, Tigger Geeters, shared that she fears an increase in traffic and what that would mean for the safety of Helena’s roads.

“That (road) is the most dangerous place, and that’s where they want to have their entrance,” Geeters said. “Do you know how many people have ran into my front yard? To put an entrance there… is almost suicide. My child cannot even play in my front yard because I’m so deathly afraid that somebody is going to come around that curve and take her out.”

Some residents, such as Tom Stanbury, are concerned that the city of Helena isn’t currently prepared for the impacts of a population increase.

“If we want to continue as a bedroom community, we can do that,” Stanbury said. “If we want to grow a different tax base, other than residences, we need to get on that. And until we take over the school system as a city school system, we will have very little control over the number of kids coming in, the number per classroom, per teacher.”

Meanwhile other residents, such as Tim Webster, are concerned that such a large development in a rural area would require entirely new infrastructure to be built such as new roads, retention ponds and a sewage treatment plant.

“In these types of decisions, (it’s) very important to listen to the community because we actually do know. We live there,” Webster said. “I’m all for development, (but putting) five houses on one acre in a rural area of Shelby County? Just drop them in there?… That just doesn’t belong there.”

In addition, resident Tanner Newhouse discussed the ecological impact of developing near the Cahaba River.

“There’s a critically endangered species that is in that section of the Cahaba with less than 1,000 members globally,” Newhouse said. “I would ask that you, as a council, do not entertain another (development) request coming before you until they’ve done a proper ecological study and it’s been approved by US Fish and Wildlife Services.”

Resident Troy Hughes echoed this concern about the Cahaba River.

“We talk about the Cahaba River a lot, right? We’re proud. We’re proud of this location, and we’re proud of our community,” Hughes said. “We don’t want 1,000 homes out there that are creating problems for the Cahaba River, for the Cahaba Lilies that we’re so proud of. I just believe that what we need to do is look at this thing different going forward and determine how we grow our community without reaching into areas that we are so blessed to have.”

Ultimately, the developer’s decision to withdraw the rezoning request temporarily thwarted the potential subdivision, but residents still have concerns about the potential for development in the future.