Moody’s city council and planning commission  met jointly Monday to hear property owners’ concerns  about the possible rezoning of Park Avenue and County Road 10 to B-5 commercial property.

“Just a few years ago the economy was booming, houses were building, Red Diamond was putting in a nice installation, and we were getting hammered every day for places for businesses to come,” said David Treadwell, city project manager and member of the city’s Commercial Development Authority.  “That is what generated the recommendation that we have been working with.”

He added that if present zoning in the area, there could result in the area becoming like Highway 411.

“We all like business, but there are some things we would not like to live next door to,” he said. “I would not like to live next door to an Outback restaurant. But a good portion of Park Avenue out here is zoned B-3, which means your neighbor could sell to Outback restaurant and there is nothing anybody can do about it.

Other parts of the proposed rezoning area are also zoned agricultural, Treadwell said, meaning a neighbor could sell to a meat packing plant or a pig farmer. Treadwell said there is nothing wrong with those types of facilities and that Moody needs them, but that he wouldn’t want to be living in a nice home beside one.

Red Diamond is currently the only location zoned B-5 in the area other properties are already zoned B-3 which would allow a number of different facilities in the area.

“We have been trying over the past few weeks to do some things to accommodate the concerns,” said city attorney Bill Weathington. “We have been making changes to the ordinance and we have been working on the changes to the (proposed zoning) map.”

He said one of the major concerns was if a property was to be zoned B-5 and the owner was using the property as a residence that they could no longer do that which he said is not the case. An amendment was added that stated owners could use the property as a residence for as long as they would like, but in the case they stop using it as a residence then it could not be continued. 

Larry Golden, planning commission chairman, said he had heard reports that the city was trying to rezone the properties in order to declare imminent domain and seize them, adding that that isn’t the case.

Golden said the proposed rezoning has the intent to not only protect landowners, but also allow a quicker process when it comes to development if potential buyers are interested. 

“I know from experience, any commercial business will pay more if the property’s already zoned, because they don’t want to have to go through the zoning process,” Golden said. “When it’s zoned B-5 that property value goes up. Even though you’re selling as a residence, it is still more valuable to you, you can ask more than if it was R-1 (Residential).”

Some residents, including Greg Gilley, are still against rezoning the area at all, a position he has held throughout the entire process. 

“Who wants to rebuild if you’re zoned B-5?” he asked. “I wouldn’t, and I sure would not want to set up a residence…My push is just leave us and do it on an as-needed basis.”

Bob Isbell feels differently about the proposal. He closed his family business, a poultry farm, and sold the land to Red Diamond Feburary, 2006.

“It was one of the best decisions I ever made,” he said. “Our land values increased in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, while going down across the U.S.”

Red Diamond’s Chairman and CEO, Bill Bowron, also spoke at the meeting saying that Red Diamond is proud of Moody and wants to be a corporate citizen for a long time. 

“Whoever has been saying up and down the street that we want to buy all the land of Moody are both overestimating my financial ability, and they are also overestimating my desire to have more real estate to cut grass. We have not offered anyone any price anywhere since Mr. Isbell had an early Christmas. We have no intention of doing that unless one day Mr. Gilley decided to sell, so I would not have traffic coming out right across the street from a safety standpoint.  Other than that, I have no interest in buying Moody ,Crossroads and I have no interest in putting in whatever has been said.”  

Resident Eddie Murphree, who owns a farm in the proposed rezoning area, said he is ready to see the city “pick up and move.

“The 30 acres I have got is going to be re-zoned if I get it rezoned, whether you all go or not. I don’t care. It’s a business maneuver for me, and if the city has got somebody that wants to move in over there I think it’s a good thing.”

A number of residents still had concerns, and, although no action was taken during the work session, Mayor Joe Lee did ask that letters including the proposed ordinance, maps and questionnaires be sent to residents to find out who is for rezoning and who is against it.

“We are here tonight on a fact-finding mission to find out where we are, so the planning commission can make a good decision on how to move forward,” the  mayor said.