By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Pelham Planning Commission will hold its second public hearing on a proposed 62-house garden home neighborhood off Shelby County 261 on Jan. 9 after the commission delayed its decision on the development in December.

The public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. at Pelham City Hall, and will give Pelham residents a chance to voice their opinions on the proposed development.

The Planning Commission is considering if it will vote to rezone more than 21 acres off Indian Lake Drive from agricultural to a residential garden home district to allow Harris Doyle Homes to move forward with constructing the new subdivision. If the Planning Commission votes in favor of the rezoning, the decision will then go to the Pelham City Council for final consideration.

The Planning Commission held its first public hearing on the matter on Dec. 12, during which about 35 Pelham residents – most of who were from neighborhoods along Shelby County 261 – voiced concerns about frequent flooding in the area.

Several residents said they wanted to ensure the new development, if approved, would not worsen flooding and drainage issues along the Shelby County 261 corridor.

Over the past several years, heavy rains have caused flooding in neighborhoods such as Saddle Run and Stratford Place, which would be downstream of the proposed garden home development.

During the Dec. 12 public hearing, Harris Doyle Homes President Brooks Harris and Alabama Engineering Company representative Bob Easley said the garden home development would include an “oversize retention pond” capable of withstanding a 100-year flood. Easley also said the development would be designed to minimize water runoff into surrounding areas, such as Indian Lake.

Harris said the retention pond would help to slightly decrease the amount of runoff water flowing to the downstream neighborhoods.

After the Dec. 12 public hearing, the Planning Commission requested Harris Doyle Homes to present a hydrology study outlining the proposed development’s impact on drainage in the area during the Jan. 9 hearing.