By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Staff Writer  

PELHAM – With concerns about drainage and landscaping, the Pelham City Council reviewed plans for the proposed Oakmont subdivision at a pre-council work session on Monday, Dec. 2.

Owned by Randall Goggans and his company Pelham 157, 225 homes are currently planned for the 244-acre property with two neighborhood entrances, one located on Highway 33 and the other on State Park Road.

Pelham City Manager Gretchen DiFante asked about the landscaping plans for the subdivision, citing resident concerns about the development disrupting the scenery.

“What would you put in that landscape?” DiFante said. “I think a lot of the residents are concerned about being able to see any kind of structures from State Park Road.”

Goggans shared that the plan currently features a 30-foot landscape buffer along the frontage of the property.

“I can’t make it where you don’t see any structures when we go in there,” Goggans said. “But for the landscape, there’s already natural trees there. We’re saving everything along there that’s natural right now in that buffer… plus we’re going to add to it.”

In addition, project engineer Jeremy Taylor shared that the closest point between the subdivision’s property lines and the nearby Pelham Oaks Elementary School is 560 feet with a vertical elevation different of 165 feet.

The other primary concern of the City Council was how the developers plan to combat the drainage and flooding issues experienced in similar Pelham subdivisions.

“If anything is going be approved, we want to make sure that whatever our public works folks require in the way of drainage is in place,” Councilmember David Coram said. “When it rains, water is going to pour down into that valley. We already have a number of neighborhoods where people have challenges with that.”

According to Taylor, the development plan currently features four different retention ponds. In addition, the construction plan is segmented into phases to avoid clear cutting vegetation.

“We’re going to take a really, really hard look at,” Goggans said. “It’s going to be, I think, a fantastic development for the city. I can’t work miracles about (the fact that) you’re going to see some houses, but I don’t think it’s going to be… a problem.”

The Oakmont subdivision will have a public hearing to seek rezoning for the property at a future date. At this public hearing, the council and the public will be able to ask more questions about the proposed subdivision.