A proposal to convert the former Crabtree car dealership into a retail shopping center stalled Tuesday after a denial by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
At a special meeting in City Hall, the panel relied on a recommendation from Associate Corporation Counsel Ramon Sous in rejecting a request for a zone change to make way for the proposed development. The site, at 405 – 407 Bridgeport Ave., has sat vacant since the dealership closed suddenly in mid-2007.
Sous said part of the area covered in the request, Access Road, belongs to the city and the city has not agreed to endorse any change, which is the job of the Board of Aldermen.
“My opinion is the application is incomplete and should be withdrawn” without prejudice, Sous said.
Dominick Thomas, lawyer for the developer, Monty Blakeman, disputed the city’s claim to the road, adding that more than 300 people have signed a petition supporting the proposal.
Afterward, he vowed to apply again. He also called the decision “totally incomprehensible.”
Addressing the panel, he said the state Department of Transportation has wanted to eliminate all or part of Access Road for the last 15 years.
Board Chairman Anthony Pogoda posed the option directly: “Are you going to withdraw the application at this time?”
“My position is [the public hearing] should be continued. I would be glad to make the presentation to the Board of Aldermen,” Thomas said.
But commission member Chris Jones moved to deny it. After the overwhelming vote, neighbors living on nearby Nells Rock Road and Buddington Road, seated in the audience, applauded. Any new business would increase traffic on the narrow, winding roads, critics say.
Sous said Thomas was trying to pit one city board against another, adding that the Board of Aldermen may choose to do nothing with the road.
Blakeman, who developed the Split Rock shopping center, said it would be “the city’s loss” if the area was not improved.
“I wouldn’t have proposed this if it wouldn’t better the community,” he said.
