BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
It was a packed house, again, Tuesday night for the Millbrook City Council meeting.
Most of those in attendance were there to speak against a proposed RV Park that could be located on Clear Lake, in the area of Coosada Parkway, Caroline Drive and Lakeshore Drive.
Landowner Brad Odell approached the Planning and Zoning Commission earlier this year about changing the zoning for his property. Currently it falls under Farm, Agriculture and Recreation. He has requested a zoning change to the much stricter RV-1, which is specific to the construction, set up, running and maintenance of an RV Park.
Planning and Zoning approved it, and sent it to the Millbrook Council for consideration.
For the description and differences between the two zoning ordinances, see https://elmoreautauganews.com/2021/02/16/zoning-change-requested-clear-lake-far-zoning-rv-1-zoning-differences-explained/
Odell would like to put in 99 spaces for RVs on his property which includes a large portion of Clear Lake. But the approximately 12 other homes also on the lake have residents that, for the most part, are opposed to any such construction. They say it would disturb the peace and quiet of their area, which is the predominant reason they chose to live on the lake.
Another big concern the residents have is that Odell, admittedly, allowed associates to dump debris into the lake over the years, including tree limbs, stumps, logs and concrete. At a meeting earlier this month, Odell said that the debris was put into the water in the hopes it would give a natural habitat for fish in the lake.
However, residents say the floating logs and other debris have turned the once “beautiful and crystal clear lake” into a dark brown mess. Residents have tried to remove some of the logs which wash up on their property, or float around the lake. One resident said he has contacted the Alabama Department of Environmental Management with his concerns. We will reach out to ADEM on that matter for a future article.
However, at the meeting last night Mayor Al Kelley did tell Odell he would like to see the lake cleaned of debris, such as the logs and concrete. He also addressed an accusation that the city had contracted with Odell to dump debris into the lake.
“That is absolutely not the case,” Kelley said. “We have four acres on Caroline that is a swampy bog. With the owner’s permission, we do put yard debris there, but it is not placed into the lake.”
Kelley said that many years ago he learned that some city workers had dumped yard debris into the lake, but he put an immediate stop to it.
Residents said that other items have appeared in the lake over time, to include a washing machine and trash in general. But where that debris came from was not clear.
Earlier in February, Odell requested the issue be tabled prior to the council meeting. Multiple residents in the area stood to speak to council members with their concerns, and council members did vote to table the issue in the first February meeting.
However, last night when it came to a vote to bring it back to the table on the request for zone changing to RV-1, a motion was not made. There are still many unanswered questions that the Council would like to have answered. But without a motion from the floor at future meetings, it is possible the issue could not come back up for a vote.
That would not necessarily stop Odell from moving forward with future plans for the land under FAR zoning, however. Under the FAR zoning, he could be allowed to create a park, as well as many other things, under less stringent zoning requirements, which is a concern for some officials on the council. If the RV Park is to come, the council members would rather see it in an area zoned specifically for RVs.
Many people stood to speak again last night, and we will have more coverage on their concerns, as well as comments from the council and Odell’s representative. Please look at the link above in the article for much more information concerning the differences between zoning for FAR and RV-1.
