Rexburg homeowners concerned about proposed zoning change for housing project - East Idaho News
Rexburg

Rexburg homeowners concerned about proposed zoning change for housing project

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REXBURG – Dozens of homeowners are concerned about a proposed housing project on a 15-acre piece of property in Rexburg.

Eldwin, LLC, which is listed as the property owner on public documents, is tentatively planning to build 180 single-family townhomes in what is currently an empty field on the corner of 5th East and 7th South near the Latter-day Saint temple. The plan includes a pickle ball and tennis court for residents.

A preliminary map shows the property is surrounded by subdivisions, which are zoned as low-density residential 1. The new development would require the property to be rezoned to medium-density residential 1.

vicinity map
A map showing the developers preliminary plans for a housing development on 7th South in Rexburg. | City of Rexburg

Brent Bement, the business applicant, did not respond to a request for comment about the project, but nearby homeowner David Merrill is opposed to the zoning change request.

He tells EastIdahoNews.com that particular area has been zoned as low-density residential for at least 15 years. Changing the zoning to accommodate the Eldwin project is inconsistent with the established layout, he says, and will disrupt the flow in surrounding neighborhoods.

“I’m not a city planner, but when you change the zoning from low density to medium density to high density, the city plan requires you to have a buffer, (meaning) a street or a row of trees,” Merrill explains. “Our biggest issue is that there is no transition going from a rural community to medium density.”

Rexburg Planning and Zoning Administrator Alan Parkinson says there are buffering requirements if you’re putting a high-density zone next to a low-density zone. But transitioning from LDR1 to MDR1 does not require buffering.

“An LDR is not that huge of a step up to an MDR. You’d have to dive into the code to find the specifics, but until I see what the developer’s going to put there, I really can’t tell what’s going to be required. When it’s a rezone, we don’t look at any plans for homes or plats; we’re just looking at the zone,” Parkinson says.

At least 70 other homeowners have expressed similar opposition to the zoning request, citing additional concerns with traffic, sewer, and water usage.

A planning and zoning meeting is being held Thursday night at 6:30 to give the public a chance to weigh in on the matter. The city is required to conduct its own research on traffic and other issues, so this meeting will be focused only on the zoning issue.

Merrill held a meeting in his neighborhood Tuesday night in hopes of generating a united response. Ultimately, those who are opposed are hoping the zoning change request will be rejected.

“We purchased our lot and built our current home in 2015. We love this area and chose to build here because we wanted to have similar family homes surrounding us,” one homeowner writes. “Rezoning … would be inconsistent with our neighborhood and diminish the beauty of our area and cause visual impairments of the views we currently enjoy. We hope our concerns will be considered.”

A final decision will not be reached at Thursday’s meeting. The Planning and Zoning commission will pass their recommendation along to the city council after reviewing public feedback. The city council will vote on it at a later date.

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