--UPDATE MAY 30--
Tab Bullard, Vice President of Development for the Southeast Region of Zimmerman Properties, sent a statement to 13 WMAZ about the project.
It says in part:
"When we arrived at Council on May 15th, we quickly realized the Eagle Springs residents had organized in bigger force to continue expressing their concerns over our proposal. Mayor invited us to present our update to Council, which we did and showed how we took into consideration all design comments expressed from the previous presentation and design charrette: we reduced all buildings to 2-stories, consolidated to a single ingress/egress point on Gunn Road, and increased the size of onsite detention to offset impact on area flooding. We were not, however, provided with an update from Council on their findings in researching our existing developments in other communities Council felt were similar to Centerville. In speaking with Town Officials, though, the research had been done but a consolidated report from Council was not ready to be presented to us or the community during that Council meeting. We have yet been provided with a report of findings from Council. After we concluded our updated presentation to Council, each Council member was given an opportunity to ask questions of us and our proposal, and then members of the community present were allowed to express their concerns, again. The comments from the community were similar to those expressed in the original meeting, except some (i) contradicted previous comments, including our reduced ingress/egress points, (ii) questioned how we operate our properties, claiming our leasing protocols can’t be relied upon, (iii) claimed we were bringing Section 8 to their community, even though we previously clarified the difference and how we are not and won’t be a project-based Section 8 community, and (iv) one person even threatened to not vote for Mayor or members of Council if Council allowed us to move forward. However, some of the more shocking of comments and questions came from two of the Council members. Their comments honestly were taking an approach of indicating our proposed development, because it was considered low-income housing and not market rate, was not welcome, needed, or appropriate for Centerville, especially along Gunn Road and adjacent the Eagle Springs subdivisions. One Council member even indicated that Centerville exists as it does today because no deals like the one we’re proposing have ever been built there and that the community is not underserved. We were most shocked, though, when one of the two more outspoken Council members, after discussions regarding our proposal was concluded, asked those in attendance to stay to hear about the next item on the agenda immediately following ours. That item, as it was stated during its time on the agenda, was to notify the community of Council’s desire to look into modifying their zoning ordinances. The modification to zoning ordinances would be a direct attempt to prohibit proposals such as ours from getting approved without giving the community and members of Council more input and say on what, where, when and how developments are approved in the Town of Centerville. To us, this is one of the more blatant displays on record by a Council, or its members, to violate Federal Fair Housing Laws as an attempt to keep housing from being built based on the population for which it serves. Our hope is Council will take more time to understand what we’re trying to bring to their community, not fall victim to the NIMBYism and negative comments expressed by the Eagle Springs residents, and work with us in creating what we believe and know will be a great community for Centerville. We’ve asked, and continue to ask, Council to reach out to us to learn more about who we are, what we do, who we serve, and how our proposal can and will be a true asset for the community. Hopefully they will take us up on that offer."
Bullard says since 2001, the company developed more than 7,000 units in 12 states and still owns 95 percent of them.
He said the project would do all it could to be successful and fit into the existing community.
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Some people in Centerville say they're concerned about a proposed affordable housing development near their homes.
The proposed project would be built near the Houston County Public Library's Centerville Branch and Eagle Springs neighborhood on Gunn Road.
Ronald Kesler lives in that neighborhood and says there's been a buzz.
“It's a very constantly talked about project. My neighbor lives right behind me [and] the other day came over here and wanted to know what was going on,” Kesler said.
But Kesler says the buzz has been one of concern.
“One is the crime issue that might come in to the area, and the other one is the way property values will fall if they do put that type of housing in there,” Kesler said.
Kesler also says he and his neighbors are concerned about traffic on Gunn Road and privacy if three-story apartment complexes are built right behind their homes.
A different man, who declined to leave his name, called WMAZ last week to express his concern with the project and the city’s involvement.
Centerville Mayor John Harley gave us this statement about the project:
“Neither the City of Centerville nor its Planning and Zoning Board or Zoning Board of Appeals has met or taken any action related to Zimmerman Properties’ proposed Gunn Road affordable housing project. Nevertheless, the citizens’ concerns about this proposed project have prompted the City to look closely at its ordinances related to building, development and zoning so that Centerville has the best possible regulatory framework for citizens, developers and builders going forward. The City has turned this matter over to its attorneys for review and recommendations.”
The project was submitted to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
The Department confirmed they received an application for a low income housing tax credit and was reviewing the application.
The Department does not comment on individual applications still under review.
Meanwhile, Kesler is worried about what the proposal will do to the neighborhood he's lived in for 14 years.
“It has a lot of people upset and I'm afraid that it might possibly put them to where they're just going to put their houses on the market and go, before it falls apart,” Kesler said.
Other neighbors WMAZ spoke with on Tuesday said they either knew of the proposed development or were against it.
A nearby neighbor of Kesler's expressed the same concerns about property values and crime.
They're not the only ones; the Eagle Springs Association website posts updates on the project's status.
WMAZ did not hear back from Wilhoit Properties, which filed the application with the state.
WMAZ also reached out to Zimmerman Properties, mentioned in Mayor Hartley’s statement, and they have not returned our calls.