Neighbors pound the pavement to protest Mayfield project Neighbors pound the pavement to protest Mayfield project (October 15, 2004)

Planners will choose development alternatives Nov. 4

By Jon Wiener

Election signs have been cropping up on lawns around the city, but a new local yard sign isn't about a candidate or a ballot measure.

It's about Mayfield, the potential site of a new housing development and a source of ire for some Monta Loma neighborhood residents.

In the last two weeks, Gloria Jackson, a Benjamin Drive resident, has been going door-to-door gathering signatures for a petition and distributing yard signs calling for the site at San Antonio Road and Central Expressway to remain zoned for commercial activity.

Toll Brothers Development Company wants to build 600 to 800 residential units on the 27-acre lot, currently owned by HP. Two public meetings this summer drew hundreds of residents from the surrounding Monta Loma neighborhood. The overwhelming majority of those present are opposed to such high densities.

But some residents may be getting ahead of themselves in their rush to quash the project.

The city's senior planner, Lynnie Melena, said the project will remain a proposal for over a year. Referring to the community meetings, she said, "We're doing a lot more up-front community outreach than we normally do."

Melena said the council has already decided to consider a rezoning application, and the next time the issue will be up for a council vote will be at the end of the process, which is expected to be in January 2006.

Jackson said she is worried that the deeper the city gets involved, the harder it will be to stop the project.

"We don't have plenty of time," she said. Jackson addressed the city council on Tuesday about her concerns. She also said and said she was interested in possibly placing a referendum about the site on the city's ballot.

Some Monta Loma residents are concerned about increased traffic and crime, but the project proposal has raised larger questions about the process in the city's zoning decisions. With office vacancy around 25 percent, housing developers want properties throughout the city re-zoned for residential use.

Even some city council members are worried that deciding on each site's future individually could lead to a zoning patchwork that reflects economic realities now but would ultimately keep the city's commercial base from returning in future years.

Once home to the Mayfield Mall and then later to HP offices, the controversial project has turned into a hot-button political issue in this year's city council campaign. Some Monta Loma residents have said they plan to vote for candidates based on their position on this project. Jackson said she had collected 400 signatures by Tuesday night's council meeting.

City staff is currently coming up with proposed alternative uses for the site. On Nov. 4, the environmental planning commission will recommend which proposals to study further.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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