By Sarah Stephens
Elmore Autauga News
At the last regular Elmore Commission meeting Monday, commissioners heard from several area residents around Redland Road, the majority of which were against a new neighborhood called Laurel Ridge to be built in the area. The first phase of the neighborhood will bring 117 new homes. The end goal will add over 600 new homes over many years.
There were several concerns from some who spoke, who said they are concerned with uncontrolled growth, traffic, the school system and the additional pressure on utilities.
Commission Chairman Bart Mercer spoke to the large audience prior to the speakers taking the podium.
“We have received many emails in opposition to this Laurel Ridge Plat being approved,” Mercer said. “But I think it needs to be said that the commission has a set of subdivision regulations that a developer must follow before we can consider a plat for approval. Any changes in the powers that the commission has would have to be approved by the state legislature. We can’t just go in and make changes to the subdivision regulations that would give us more powers than we currently have within these regulations.”
He said one of the emails he received concerned how the development would impact the school system.
“I don’t discount those concerns. But our subdivision regulations do not attempt to dictate how the Board of Education manages our school system. That is not something that we can legally take into consideration.”
Mercer stressed that the commission strongly supports the BOE, saying that Elmore was the first county in the state to share 25 percent of the internet sales tax, or SSUT, with the BOE.
“This year that allocation, we estimate, will be around $750,000. We understand that our Board of Education has to run a school system that has the lowest property tax in the state. I don’t want anyone to think that we have not heard your concerns. We are just very limited in our abilities.”
Residents then came forward and each had three minutes to speak.
Speakers on the agenda included Bobbie Langley, William Piper and Bruce Taylor.
Langley said she and her family moved to Redland from South Carolina two years ago, and she is active in the community. Prior to her move, she served as a district representative on a county planning commission of “one of the fasted growing metropolitan areas in South Carolina.”
She continued “I understand Elmore County has no zoning, no ordinances and no long-range plan that I have uncovered.”
She said Elmore County is growing, and now is the time to make a long-range plan for growth. She said that she feels most people want to retain a quiet existence as is possible.
William Piper was next to speak, and spoke specifically on the new subdivision. He said the subdivision, and proposed expansions, will add to the problem that already exists, among many other concerns.
Bruce Taylor then addressed the commission, again voicing his concerns. He questioned why a traffic study was not done, and asked if there is an improvement plan for Redland Road.
Editor’s note: To hear all comments, and the meeting in its entirety, you can visit
While the Commission said they understand all of the concerns brought forward, there is an important part when it comes to the commission’s ability to oversee future growth.
“We can consider whether to approve or disapprove a plat based on what we are statutorily allowed to consider,” Commissioner Mercer said. “We do not have zoning ordinances like a municipality would have.”
Commissioner Dennis Hill serves District 3, which is the area where this new neighborhood is planned.
“I have reached out to the developer and the builder for that subdivision, and this is what I have been told. The homes out there are going to be anywhere from 2,100 to 3,000 square feet. They can’t build duplexes. At this size home, they are not going to be low-income housing. Their plan is to have this subdivision built out in 12 years. They are planning on selling anywhere from 35 to 45 homes a year.”
Dennis said that he has talked to many people about Redland incorporating, much like Pine Level has done.
“Back in 2014, the Commission was given limited home rule. In 2016, the people didn’t like that idea and they took it away from us. As the chairman said, we have no zoning laws, we have nothing. The only powers that we have are what you the citizens give to us.”
Chief Operating Officer Richie Beyer explained that for this development, all the standards have been met, considering there is no zoning ordinance for the county. He said the commission is in a position where they must approve the development.
Commissioner Mercer added, “There have been efforts in the past to impose some type of ordinances or rules that would really limit private landowners property and their rights, and that is what they do. In 2005 there was an effort by the county commission to create a comprehensive plan. When citizens realized that plan was going to include county ordinances, I was in the room that night. There was nobody in this room that was happy about that.”
In 2014, Mercer said that the commission facilitated a vote that would have given the county limited self-governance rules. It passed by 183 votes in the county. A few months after that, people in the county realized that those limited self-government rules gave the commission the ability to pass ordinances like a municipality would have. They could regulate how tall your grass is and multiple things.
In 2018, Mercer was on the commission, and a petition was presented with 4,000 signatures for the measure to be put back on a ballot for a county vote.
“The question was, do you as a citizen of Elmore County want those powers to be repealed? Do you want the commission to be stripped of those powers to be able to pass any ordinances like a municipality could? “
When the citizens voted, they overwhelmingly took away the commission’s ability to create such ordinances.
Mercer said the Redland community could investigate incorporating and have its own abilities to carefully monitor what comes into that area. He said it is a lot of work, but it can be done.
When the Laurel Ridge neighborhood plat came up for a vote, all Commissioners present voted in favor of accepting the Laurel Ridge Plan. Absent from the meeting was Commissioner Desirae Lewis Jackson.
