Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
Every bench was filled Tuesday night for the Prattville City Council meeting where an opinionated and devoted crowd filled the chambers in either support of opposition of various items on the agenda.
The council voted 4-0 against the months-long debate between developers and members of Homeplace to rezone a property at the intersection of Constitution Avenue and U.S. 82 Bypass, where the proposed Cottages at Prattville would have been built.
The Cottages were a proposed rental property development with over 200 projected units. Now, the area will stay zoned as single-family homes, planned-unit developments and for business only.
Members of the community living in Homeplace and surrounding areas packed the benches Tuesday evening, where many individuals spoke in opposition, and have been speaking in opposition for months now.
During public comment, Homeplace residents spoke their concerns on traffic problems if The Cottages were to be built and expressed their concerns of lowering their property value, as well as safety concerns that come with rental properties.
The Birmingham based developers on this project, Forge Residential Partners, are back to square one in regard to The Cottages at Prattville.
The council also approved hiring two new Library Board members to the Autauga-Prattville Public Library Board of Trustees after months-long debates over the library board and the opinion of what content should be allowed in the public library.
Many members of Read Freely Alabama and other members in opposition spoke during the public hearing portion of Tuesday’s meeting, asking the council members to choose these board members with careful consideration.
Gloria Kuykendall and Quincy Minor were both appointed by the council to the library board.
All other items on the agenda were adopted by the city council, including the appointment of Christpher McKay to the Historic Preservation Commission, on the consent agenda.
The council, which holds seven seats, currently housing six representatives only had four active voting members Tuesday evening. Councilman Albert Striplin of District 1 was not in attendance due to medical reasons and Councilman Marcus Jackson of District 2 was only in attendance for the public hearing portion of the meeting.
