The Gluckstadt Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday night voted to recommend land at at U.S. 51 and Weisenberger Road be rezoned from R1, meaning residential, to C2, meaning commercial, to accommodate a proposed travel sports complex, despite several people who attended the meeting to voice opposition to the measure.
The travel sports facility, previously labeled as the "Gluckstadt Megadome," is a $100 million project that has been in the works for months under 828 Sports Ventures. The 43-acre project includes plans for indoor and outdoor courts as well as a hotel and restaurant.
The official name of the facility, which is yet to be determined, according to developers, as the project remains in the planning and zoning stages.
The measure is now expected to be taken up by the Gluckstadt Board of Aldermen at an Aug. 13 meeting.
During a Gluckstadt Board of Aldermen meeting in January, 828 Sports Ventures CEO Larry Fortune said the complex would yield an estimated $50 million annual economic impact for Gluckstadt, according to third-party data analysis.
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Stuart Warren and Katie Warren, a husband and wife duo running Madison-based real estate company Turn Key Properties, addressed the Gluckstadt Planning and Zoning Commission during Tuesday night's public hearing.
The Warrens requested the commission move forward with rezoning the land at U.S. 51 and Weisenberger Road, which is currently zoned R1, meaning residential. The rezoned land would become C2, meaning commercial.
On Tuesday night, Commissioner Katrina Myrick cast the lone "no" vote in opposition to the rezoning.
The vote followed a lengthy public hearing at which several nearby residents voiced opposition to the facility's location.
Over the course of an hour, seven different residents addressed the commission with concerns. The only people who spoke in favor of the rezoning were involved in the project, including the Warrens.
The residents' concerns mainly stemmed from two issues: traffic and lack of details in the proposal. Every resident who spoke Tuesday night lives in either Twin Cedars or Wildwood, two residential neighborhoods within 2 miles of the facility's proposed site.
The residents expressed concerns that the facility would bring in excessive traffic to an area already burdened with congestion. Others said a lack of details in the building plans raise too many uncertainties.
Tammie McCullough, Wildwood Homeowners Association member, said a travel sports facility would damage the character of the area.
"The point I want to make is that the character of the neighborhood has changed," McCullough said. "(Wildwood residents) acknowledge there's commercial property around us, but (the commercial properties) have not changed to be sports complexes."
Most of the residents who spoke against the rezoning supported the concept of a travel sports facility in Madison County. Many of the people who spoke said they have children who currently participate in travel sports or have participated in the past. However, the residents do not want the travel sports facility so close to their neighborhoods.
The Warrens who also live in Twin Cedars, assured the concerned residents that the proper traffic studies and precautions have already been taken. Stuart said the land at U.S. 51 and Weisenberger Road is ideal because the Turn Key office also sits on U.S. 51. He said the site is "sentimental" for him since he passed it frequently growing up in Canton.
Jonathon Kiser, the engineer who conducted the traffic study, assured the commission that the study was thorough and takes into account increased traffic around the entrance of Wildwood and Twin Cedars. Katie Warren said the team is collaborating with the Mississippi Department of Transportation as well.
Both Katie and Stuart Warren emphasized the need for a travel sports facility, something that does not currently exist in Madison County. Katie Warren also said since the land is already surrounded by commercial properties, keeping the land zoned residential wouldn't be the best choice regardless of the sports facility's construction.
The commission reminded the residents several times that the purpose of Tuesday night's meeting was to decide whether to recommend rezoning the land from residential to commercial. The vote did not determine whether the project as a whole would move forward.
After the meeting, Katie Warren told the Clarion Ledger that she was glad to have such an open discussion with the Gluckstadt community and emphasized she and her husband want what's best for their neighbors.
On Aug. 13, the Gluckstadt Board of Aldermen are expected to make the final decision on the rezoning. After that vote, there are several more steps, including a conditional use application that need to happen before construction could begin. Katie Warren said once construction begins, the facility would likely take upwards of a year to complete.
The design of the facility has changed significantly from original plans presented by Fortune in January. The three air domes illustrated in the first plans are no longer a part of the plan following previous concerns from nearby residents. The building plans have also been pushed back from the road to allow more space for landscaping. Another redesign moved the parking lot to the back of the facility so it would not be visible from nearby neighborhoods.
More details of the reworked building designs will be presented in a future Gluckstadt Board of Aldermen meeting.
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Got a news tip? Contact Mary Boyte at mboyte@jackson.gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Gluckstadt commission rezones travel sports facility land, residents express concerns
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