Most of Monday night’s Washington City Council meeting was taken up with discussion on a request to rezone property at the intersection of Parkdale Drive and Bedford Road from Residential-1 to Residential-2. The change would allow Jordan Briggeman and his business, Peacefield Properties to build two duplexes on the nearly one acre of property. Briggeman recently purchased the property and razed a derelict house. He wants to build two duplexes and a single family residence on the property. The City Council ended up with the request after the Washington Plan Commission failed to take action on the request.
Area property owners Sherry Hunert, Gail Meredith, and Alice Fitzgerald spoke against the request. Their main objection was to the increased traffic the new housing would bring to the area. At the Plan Commission, area residents had objected to having rentals in the area citing safety concerns and worries about devaluation of property. Briggeman pointed out that there are 14 rental properties within a three-block radius of the property. Briggeman also noted that the duplexes would have a higher appraised value than any current homes in the neighborhood. He also said that every residence would have adequate off-street parking and a professional yard service would maintain the grounds. Briggeman also said rent would be in the neighborhood of $1,200 per month and all tenants would be subject to a third-party background check. Dr. Nick Dahl, Nathan Frederick, local business man Dusty Davis, and local banker John Clouse spoke in support of the Briggemans and vouched for their character and standards. Dahl said the construction would raise the quality of housing in Washington. Clouse told the Council the Briggemans were “not in business to be slum lords”.
Not taking sides in the discussion, Board of Zoning Appeals chairman Don Spillman observed that under the City’s zoning code, the property’s current classification would allow Briggeman to build four single family rental residences on the property without restrictions. City Attorney Tim Dant advised the Council they needed to make an up or down decision on the request. Dant said he recommended that the Council direct him to prepare an ordinance to rezone the property. The ordinance would then be subject to a public hearing and being read at two meetings with the Council making a final decision. Dant noted that voting to have the ordinance prepared did not mean the Council approved the request, but would make a final decision. On a motion from Councilman Mike Singleton, the Council approved Dant’s recommendation.