After public outcry, the developer of a housing subdivision at 8209 Bell Mill Road has withdrawn a rezoning request for the 102-acre property, but GreenTech Homes will still move forward with plans to build 204 houses.
Rezoning the land from agricultural to residential would have enabled construction of about 300 houses, a proposal nearby residents feared would intensify already congested driving conditions in that area. The existing agricultural zoning allows 204 homes.
Mike Price, of MAP Engineers, is representing the developer, GreenTech Homes, and told Hamilton County commissioners Wednesday that job creation has spurred a strong need for housing. The panel was scheduled to vote on the rezoning Sept. 20, but the request was withdrawn during the commission’s agenda review meeting Wednesday.
“I want my children, my grandchildren to have a place to work — and a great place to work — but they’ve got to have a place to live,” Price said. “You can’t have one without the other. What I’m seeing is an imbalance. People are coming out against subdivisions. We need them. We have to have them.”
The withdrawal means the developer will not have to follow certain conditions to complete the project, Price said.