Forsyth Park apartment complex vote may be reversed

A vote in support of a controversial 114-unit, five-story apartment complex next to Forsyth Park could be reversed this week — or area residents hoping the project is blocked could just get their hopes dashed for a second time.

One Savannah City Council member is now having second thoughts about rezoning the project site bounded by Drayton Street, East Bolton Street, Abercorn Street and East Bolton Lane.

After voting to approve Delray Ventures’ rezoning request for the project on Aug. 3, Savannah Alderman Tony Thomas announced on Facebook the next day that he plans to call for the 5-3 vote to be reconsidered during Thursday’s meeting.

Thomas said Monday that he wants to hear more information about the project and see if the developer would be open to reducing the scale of the building, which he now believes is too big for the area.

“I’ve never ever called for reconsideration of a vote up until now because I have reservations and am not afraid to go out and limb and reconsider my vote on this issue and I plan to do that,” he said.

Thomas had joined Mayor Eddie DeLoach along with aldermen Brian Foster, John Hall and Julian Miller in voting in favor of the new zoning designation that they said was in line with their goal of attracting more residential developments to the city.

Alderman Bill Durrence, who represents the project area, voted along with Estella Shabazz and Van Johnson against the rezoning after about a dozen residents spoke for about 40 minutes against the project they said was too large for the neighborhood.

Daniel Jimenez, a partner with Delray, declined on Monday to comment on the potential revote.

On Monday, DeLoach said his support for the rezoning is based on what he believes is good for the city overall and that denser development is needed to make living downtown more affordable.

“I have to think about the long term and think about the community,” he said. “I try to weigh those at the same time.”

The developers said at the last meeting that rent would be market rate and amount to between $2.50 to $3 per square feet or between $1,875 to $2,250 for a 750-square-foot unit, what Jimenez said was the average apartment size.

Whether the project moves forward will likely be up to Mayor Pro Tem Carol Bell, who was absent at the meeting when the rezoning was approved. With Bell’s support the rezoning could pass, even with Thomas voting in opposition, if the other council members’ positions remain unchanged.

Bell declined on Monday to share her opinion of the project or say how she intends to vote. She said she will be at the meeting, however.

The rezoning vote may not even have to be reconsidered for the project to be blocked. Last week’s vote was for two items the developer needed for the project. The first was to create a new zoning district, 4-R, which has reduced density, height and lot-size restrictions. The second vote was to rezone the property to that newly created district.

This week they are scheduled to consider the actual adoption of the ordinances creating the new zoning district and implementing the new zoning.

As part of the rezoning vote, the council also required that the general development plan return to them for consideration after being reviewed by the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission.

Members of the planning commission, as well as planning commission staff, had recommended that the zoning change be denied after determining the size of the apartment complex was incompatible for the area. The planning commission officials also disputed the developer’s claim that current zoning was not sufficient to encourage residential development in the district.

The developer’s said the size of the building was the only way the project would be financially feasible and that the height and mass was required to have a garage on the first two levels that would provide 148 spaces and alleviate common concerns about parking.

Local architect Scott Barnard said that he is feeling better now that Thomas is reconsidering his support, but that he has a hard time understanding how anyone could support the project that both residents and professional planners oppose.

“It’s disappointing to us constituent voters that our mayor didn’t really care what we had to say,” Barnard said.

A new vote to deny the rezoning petition would not be the first time this City Council has reversed an action from a previous meeting. The Savannah City Council approved an alcohol license for the Stage on Bay in March after being threatened with a $6 million lawsuit for denying the application for the West Bay Street music venue one month earlier. Initially siding with residents opposed to the business, council members said at the subsequent meeting they had no legal basis for turning the application down.

IF YOU GO

What: Savannah City Council Meeting

When: 2 p.m. Thursday

Where: Council Chambers, 2nd Floor of City Hall, 2 E Bay St.