Planning commission approves updated Pike Road development plan

PIKE ROAD, Ala. (WSFA) - The Pike Road Planning Commission has voted 5-2 in favor of developer Lowder New Homes’ zoning change request for a proposed 1,091-home subdivision near Wallahatchie Road and Vaughn Road.

The proposed project would be built close to where Pike Road Schools recently announced it would build a new high school campus.

The planning commission’s vote Monday night is a recommendation to the Town Council. Now, the zoning change request will go before the Town Council for a possible vote in June. The council will first receive more input through a public hearing before a vote.

If passed, this development would be the largest planned subdivision in Pike Road.

There was a heated debate over the zoning change approval at Monday night’s meeting. The developers originally proposed a 1,200-home subdivision. They had to make adjustments to the original project after drawback from several residents, some of whom were still unhappy after Monday’s vote.

“Their first plan was around 1,300-1,400 hundred homes, and then the compromise has been brought down to 1,000 homes, and so I think that’s a good compromise when we meet down the middle somewhere,” said Pike Road Planning Commission Chairman Chris Dunn.

Nearby residents have voiced concerns over the project’s size and traffic congestion it could bring.

“Can you imagine 2,000 more vehicles at a minimum on Vaughn Road, the rural feel of Pike Road that we’re all striving to keep, it’ll just be decimated,” said one resident, Willette Vaughan.

The developers are now promising to reduce the project by 180 units, add more green space, and only build 50 homes per year over the course of an approximately 20-year project.

“We’re not quite there yet. A cart before the horse, if you will,” said Vaughan. “We’re are just putting too much too soon.”

Lowder New Homes has also conducted a traffic study. They are urging the planning commission to push the Department of Transportation to widen Vaughn Road.

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