Another developer wants to build off Macon Road in Columbus. Residents oppose plan again

Friday at 10:39 AM

Three months after hundreds of Columbus residents petitioned against a rezoning request for a proposed development on Macon Road, a second development company now faces stiff opposition in efforts to develop the same land.

Wizer Home Builders, LLC has submitted a rezoning request to build single-family homes and town homes, which borders Macon Road, the Farmington and Sears Woods neighborhoods, and an undeveloped property going towards Woodruff Road that’s already zoned for multifamily housing such as apartments.

But, as was the case with a prior effort to rezone this land, hundreds of local residents are against it. A petition against the rezoning garnered 799 signatures, community organizer Karen Gaskins told the Ledger-Enquirer. The Planning Department shows 839 people opposed the rezoning as of Thursday.

Wizer’s request is to change 111.56 acres from a current single-family residence zoning into a different single-family residence zoning while also getting approval for multi-family residences. The current zoning, which is SFR2, requires lots to be bigger, with fewer homes per acre. Wizer wants the zoning to be changed to SFR3, allowing for smaller lots and more homes per acre.

The change “is intended to give us more flexibility to deliver a good product when we’re done,” said Dave Erickson, a builder who represented the company at a Tuesday town hall meeting with about 150 residents where he presented the site plan.

Wizer Home Builders LLC is requesting the property at 5201 Macon Rd. in Columbus be rezoned.

The site plan

The proposed site plan includes 253 single-family homes and 84 town homes for 337 new housing units.

“Everything here is a for-sale product,” Erickson said.

The company has volunteered to put fences up on the boundaries where they do not already exist, Erickson said. They also volunteered to create a planted buffer. In about five to six years, people won’t be able to see a house on the other side of the planted buffer, he said.

Lots on the west border of the project close to existing neighborhoods would have a minimum of 10,000 square feet, meeting the larger requirements of SFR2 zoning, Erickson said, which will help transition from the old neighborhood to the new one.

“These lots will have two beneficial effects on people in the Sears Road area,” he said. “One, it will mean the houses are physically farther apart. Two, the trees in the backyard have a higher probability of being able to stay.”

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This map show the property at 5201 Macon Rd. in Columbus, Georgia that Wizer Home Builders, LLC has asked city officials to rezone.

Erickson warned that he couldn’t guarantee any particular tree would remain, but that it was good practice to have a scattering of trees in the neighborhood.

Two detention ponds, designed to collect and release stormwater, are also included near the property’s wetlands to help reduce water. If the city would like to join in on creating the detention ponds, then they can be oversized and help reduce flooding in already existing neighborhoods as well, Erickson said.

“This is a 10-year project,” he said. “It will not happen overnight . . . Frankly, a subdivision in Columbus doing 25 or 30 units a year is considered really good.”

Dealing with traffic

Increased traffic was a top concern for residents when the last developer, Atlanta-based Proterra Development, attempted to rezone the land. It remains a top concern with the current proposed development, especially considering the entrances and exits of the proposed subdivision off of Macon Road and through the Sears Woods neighborhood.

A traffic study has been requested, Erickson said during the meeting, but a full report wouldn’t be available until next month.

The plan includes a current entrance off of Macon Road going up Saddle Ridge Drive, an additional entrance off Macon Road that requires approval from the Georgia Department of Transportation, and a connection with Donna Sue Drive.

Seven cul-de-sacs are featured in the site plan. Erickson’s team purposely designed the road network to take traffic away from existing nearby neighborhoods with two corridor roads to pull traffic towards Macon Road, he said.

“They are public roads,” Erickson said. “People can drive wherever they want. I can’t stop that, but with human nature people are normally going to take the easier route.”

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This map shows the proposed plan by Wizer Home Builders LLC for the development of property at 5201 Macon Rd. in Columbus, Georgia.

Other concerns from residents

Residents at the Tuesday meeting also expressed concern about the homes eventually becoming rental properties.

“Once you start building and you have houses on the ground, how long is it going to take before you start renting them if they don’t sell?” one resident asked.

He has never been in the rental business, Erickson said, and does not want to be in that business in the future. Wizer plans to make a standard subdivision for Columbus, he said, which will have a homeowners association.

Questions were raised about how small the lot sizes are compared to the size of the homes and why there was a need to rezone at all.

The homes would be around $350,000 to $375,000 and would run from around 2,100 square feet to 2,800 square feet, Erickson said.

Typical Columbus homebuyers want as much house as they can afford, Erickson told the meeting’s attendees.

“If you’re building a large lot for a house that could easily fit on a smaller lot, you’re spending a lot of extra money on lot that the customer doesn’t value,” Erickson said. “They want more house, not more lot.”

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Dave Erickson, advisor and general contractor for or Wizer Home Builders, speaks during a town hall meeting with local residents on Nov. 12 at Wynnton Methodist Church about the company’s request to rezone the property at 5201 Macon Rd. in Columbus, Georgia.

One resident, Gina Asante, was concerned about the quality of the homes based on what she’s seen in other recently built neighborhoods.

“They’re just crappy houses they put up,” Asante told the Ledger-Enquirer. “And then you’re going to ruin my neighborhood? No.”

Homes built with good, quality construction can last 100 years if they’re taken care of, Erickson told residents. Regular maintenance is a key factor.

Dispute over prior comments causes confrontation

In a prior meeting with Erickson, resident Carl Dutton felt he was having an amicable conversation about Wizer’s plans for trees and fencing, Dutton told the Ledger-Enquirer.

But when Erickson indicated during the conversation that he felt like Dutton would support the proposed development, Dutton informed him that he was against it. Erickson told him that although he was “sorry” Dutton was against it, he would “win,” Dutton said.

He then told Dutton that he would “clear-cut the land and strip everything” after winning and “do nothing” for existing residents, Dutton alleged.

This conversation became a point of contention during the meeting when Dutton and his neighbor, Ben Saxon, confronted Erickson about this previous conversation. Erickson denied saying this during the meeting.

“I did not say that I was going to clear-cut everything,” Erickson responded. “I did say that it would get cleared in the process of working.”

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Dave Erickson, advisor and general contractor for or Wizer Home Builders, standing, responds to a local resident’s comments during a town hall meeting on Nov. 12 at Wynnton Methodist Church about the company’s request to rezone the property at 5201 Macon Rd. in Columbus, Georgia.

If asked specifically about trees close to boundaries, he would tell residents that some likely would stay. But Erickson emphasized that he couldn’t guarantee any particular tree would be spared.

Erickson said there are contingency plans if they are not able to rezone, but did not specify what those plans were.

Columbus councilor supports residents

Two Columbus Councilors attended the meeting, including Byron Hickey and Charmaine Crabb. Hickey, who represents the district affected by the development, spoke to the room towards the end of the heated meeting.

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Dave Erickson, advisor and general contractor for or Wizer Home Builders, listens as Columbus City Councilor Byron Hickey speaks during a town hall meeting with local residents on Nov. 12 at Wynnton Methodist Church about the Wizer’s request to rezone the property at 5201 Macon Rd. in Columbus, Georgia.

If the land is going to be developed, he said, then developers can build with the current zoning.

“When we went through this before with the last developer, I assured each and every one of you here that I had a chance to speak with that you have my support on not rezoning,” Hickey said. “I still stand here today to say the same thing.”

Who are the builders?

Wizer Home Builders is a “newer organization,” Erickson said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Wizer Home Builders was registered in February, according to the Georgia Corporations Division.

“They have hired me to be the adviser and general contractor for their activities,” Erickson told the Ledger-Enquirer.

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Dave Erickson, advisor and general contractor for or Wizer Home Builders, speaks during a town hall meeting with local residents on Nov. 12 at Wynnton Methodist Church about the company’s request to rezone the property at 5201 Macon Rd. in Columbus, Georgia.

He did not provide more information about the company’s leadership but did say the individuals involved live “within 20 minutes” of Columbus.

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