Macon-Bibb P&Z selects firm for housing study

The owners of Bloomfield Town Homes find that more potential renters are seeking three-bedroom apartments nowadays instead of their current selection of two-bedroom units.

Monday, property manager Sherman Owens appealed to the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission to rezone 5.4 acres at 4995 Bloomfield Road from R-1 single family residential to R-3 multifamily residential to allow construction of 12 three-bedroom units on existing slabs on the property. 

“We have 100 % occupancy with a waiting list,” Owens told the commission, which quickly approved his request. 

“We appreciate you doing this,” P&Z Chair Jeane Easom told him of the project. 

This south Macon trend for multifamily housing is just one trend affecting the market, so P&Z is commissioning a housing study to better prepare for future zoning needs. 

Through the Request for Proposal process, P&Z selected RKG Associates with its winning bid of $74,300 for the comprehensive study that will include the current and projected future demands of the Macon-Bibb housing market. 

P&Z approved Executive Director Jeff Ruggieri entering into contract negotiations with the company to provide “identification of emerging construction strategies/technologies, and discussions of how they may be accommodated in MBPZ policies,” the RFP stated as one of the goals of the 2050 Macon-Bibb County Housing Assessment and Forecast.   

The company, which is based in Alexandria, Virginia, and has an office in Atlanta and other cities across the nation, is expected to study the current demographic composition of the county, population projections to 2050, median incomes, home values and price ranges for rent. The study will look at the housing market, affordable housing options and student housing profiles for Mercer University, Middle Georgia State University and Wesleyan College. 

The company will evaluate the current housing stock, including those homes ready for rehabilitation in the Macon-Bibb Blight Remediation program. 

The study will take about five months to complete.

P&Z is working with the Macon Housing Authority, the Macon-Bibb County Land Bank Authority, the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority and the Bibb County School District on the project. 
Renovation compromises
P&Z also ruled on historic renovations projects that came through the Design Review Board in recent weeks. 

At 235 Pio Nono Ave., Evgeniya Kiryanova wanted to wall in her screened porch to use for storage and a mudroom, but the review board determined it would alter the historic character of the home, which is not far from Vineville Avenue. 

The board initially suggested she install insulated tinted glass instead of wood panels, but Kiryanova found that cost prohibitive and appealed to P&Z last month, which sent her back to the review board. 

In a compromise measure, the Design Review Board suggested she use regular glass and construct an interior, dark-colored wall for her privacy needs but not change the overall appearance since the current screen panels appear dark from the street.  

Fearing she would be creating a greenhouse effect with the glassed-in space, Kiryanova appealed again to P&Z, but commissioners supported the review board’s compromise instead of her original plan to use painted wood. 

Following the meeting, Design Review Board Chair Will Stanford suggested she install a small air conditioning unit to cool the space. 

Denean Smith got a welcome surprise Monday, when P&Z sided with her and did not take some the review board’s recommendations for her house renovation at 1476 Calhoun St. in Beall’s Hill.

The Design Review Board only advises the Planning & Zoning Commission on matters involving historic preservation, so their decisions are not binding. 

The review board had agreed she could replace the wood siding with cementitious material like Hardie board, approved her architectural shingles and recommended door designs, but did not approve plans to remove a large tree or want her to keep the vinyl windows she already installed before realizing she needed prior approval.

Smith told board the cost of replacing those windows could derail her whole project. 

P&Z considered the fact that Historic Macon built a new home next door using vinyl windows, which is allowed in new construction in that neighborhood.

Smith is renovating more than 60% of the building, which under building permitting is considered a new build, so P&Z decided to allow the vinyl windows. 

Commissioners also felt the large tree could disrupt the foundation of the home and gave her permission to remove it. 

P&Z also approved renovations at 1473 Calhoun St. that the review board deemed appropriate for the one-story house that does not have historic significance in the Beall’s Hill neighborhood. 
Other agenda items
Also in Monday’s hearings, P&Z approved rezoning nearly 26 acres at 3800 Woodfield Drive for Air Compressor Sales to build a storage warehouse for their company on about one acre.

Going from a planned development zone, which P&Z is phasing out, to the new heavy industrial zone will allow the rest of the property to be developed for a variety of permitted uses without coming back to P&Z for approval.

Tractor trailer loading docks and the parking spaces will be included in each potential site, according to the application. 

P&Z also approved Air Compressor Sales’ request to rezone nearly 26 acres nearby at 0 Thomaston Road from planned development, single use, to wholesale and light industrial. 

The company plans a fabricating facility and machine shop on 10 acres and wants to develop the remainder of the land for warehouses for lease or sale. 

Engineer Steven Rowland said the new zoning designations will make marketing both properties much easier.

P&Z also approved new signs for the Macon Volunteer Clinic’s new home at 770 Walnut St. and approved a variance for a four-foot fence to be built within the right of way at 3918 San Juan Ave. in Lynmore Estates. 

To learn more about these projects, Monday’s agenda is posted at mbpz.org. 

— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at fabian_lj@mercer.edu.