Plans to build a 152-unit apartment complex just outside Arnold have been scuttled after the Jefferson County Council voted 6-1 Sept. 26 to deny a needed rezoning request.
KAB Construction of Imperial proposed building eight apartment buildings on 9.43 acres on the southwest corner of Old Lemay Ferry and Miller roads to be called the Arnold Apartments. To do so, the company needed to rezone the lot from single-family residential to planned mixed residential.
After an Aug. 25 public hearing on the request that attracted about 70 people, the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend denial of the request.
The County Council has the ultimate authority on rezoning matters in unincorporated areas of the county.
In its resolution of denial, the council said the development would be incompatible with neighboring properties because of its density and that the single entrance to the development was insufficient.
The plan “is not in harmony with and is not compatible with surrounding and adjacent land uses and properties,” the resolution said.
The development bordered the Arnold city limits, and the Arnold City Council voted unanimously Sept. 1 to pass a resolution to oppose it, saying the development did not comply with fire codes because of its narrow streets and because preliminary plans called for just one entrance.
County planning officials said any detailed plans for the complex would have had to comply with fire codes.
Residents who addressed the P and Z board said more apartments in the Arnold area are unnecessary. They also said they were worried about more traffic, stormwater runoff and overcrowding in Fox C-6 School District buildings because of the additional population.
In addition, the proposed development is not far from Simpson Elementary School, and residents said they also were worried about children walking to the school with few sidewalks in the area.
The developer, Larry Barnes, said the rent for a two-bedroom unit could have been about $1,500 a month and that while he would have offered one- and two-bedroom layouts, most of them would have had two bedrooms.