An Update for Those of Us Confused

For friends and haters

Zoning and codes are not my area of expertise. I’ve learned a LOT over the last couple of years. More than I would actually care to know. Ceagus Clark and Jenna Nelms (planning and codes director and assistant) are amazing people in my book since they understand all of the things necessary to grow and maintain a city.

This is what I know about the last two meetings. Please keep in mind, I am only a peasant allowed to live on my little piece of property with the blessing of my government.

Chickens- These are the portions of the ordinance that seems to apply. Currently, no one with under an acre can utilize the chicken ordinance. The rules for an acre are laid out in this photo, and the second photo discusses the “nuisance” issues.

Right now, you have to have an acre, go before the board of zoning appeals, and then make sure your coop is at least 10 feet off the property line. Your chickens must be well cared for and not create a nuisance. Any changes to this will need the board of mayor and alderman to modify the codes.

Personally, I like to err on the side of freedom. If you live in an HOA free zone and want a few chickens. You should be able to. Along with that, I understand that my freedom ends where my fist meets your face. If your chickens smell and run a-fowl, your neighbors should be able to complain and get you fined until you fix it. We lived in WA state years ago, just outside of Seattle. We had these crazy homeschool friends that had chickens in Bothell WA, a pretty nice suburb of Seattle. You would not have known it by looking at their house, or even sitting on their back porch. Chickens, well cared for, are not a problem. Chickens, ill mannered, are worse than an ill mannered dog. I live next to an ill mannered dog, and smelling chickens would still be worse than his never ending barking.

The bigger issue that was discussed on Monday was the development on 31w/Raymond Hirsch.

“WE ARE FULL!” This is the sentiment that I see on my neighbors group, and what I hear from my friends. You are not wrong, and you have been heard loud and clear. However, there are minor problems that we don’t always see or understand. This comes back to the zoning and codes thing that Ceagus and Jenna are so good at. This property is zoned R-20. That little phrase means that they can build somewhere between 28-30 houses without the board’s permission. It’s already zoned for houses. They could take that prime commercial area and just build 30 houses and no one would have a say. This board didn’t zone it that way, it’s been zoned that way for YEARS. Keep that R-20 in your mind and follow me back to the last few times this property has come before planning.

The first time I saw this property come before the board was in March of 2022. The plan at that point was for 120 town homes which would be a rental community. 120 town homes would NOT be R-20. They were at the planning meeting requesting a rezone in order to build those. The planning board said that they could not recommend this project to the board of mayor and alderman. The discussion between the board members was that the property would be better suited as commercial since there is not a lot of commercial space left in White House. The property did not come before the planning board again until July of 2023. At that point, the entire board of Mayor and Alderman had changed, and much of the planning board.

In July the developer came with 70 town homes and 8 commercial properties. The commercial property is what the city is after. Commercial property brings in tax dollars and jobs. 70 town homes is NOT what the citizens are looking for. Mayor Corbitt told them he would not be able to sell that to the citizens and the board would not pass the development with that number of town homes. They withdrew and came back on Monday.

The 30 homes they are looking to build are seriously nothing compared to the 1100 that were built behind Heritage High School, and the 1000 going in down my road on Calista. I would prefer they not build a single home, but 30 houses compared to 120 town homes is something I can hold my nose and swallow.

Hopefully this clears up a little bit of the confusion with this development. In order to get the 8 commercial spaces, we have to allow the 30 homes. In fact, the 30 homes are the only buildings that they can legally build without a zoning change. Sometimes when I’m writing, or even speaking, it sounded better in my head.

Bottom line here is I think we need to save our pitchforks for the county right now. The city board seems to have our best interests in mind. They raised impact fees, raised the rates on the bonds for the developers, saved us from more town homes, and are making sure we get that stoplight on Tyree before Dorris Farms gets a single certificate of occupancy. This development won’t start until the Publix is done. That means that area will be a mess for years, but at this point what does it even matter. The freeway is a disaster and all there is for miles in White House is red dirt and bulldozers.

Today is Thursday, and there is a BOMA meeting tonight. This girl will be at a show with her husband. Take notes and let me know how it turns out. I’m actually confident that the people we put into office will do the right thing. That doesn’t mean we are done holding them accountable, it just means that every now and then, I can take the night off.

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