Resolution to approve 'conceptual' plan for housing development taken off the agenda
Leavell addresses council on Dogwood Hills plan
A standing room only crowd filled the chambers of Brewton City Hall Monday afternoon as a proposed housing development plan was presented possibly turning Dogwood Hills into a housing complex.
The Brewton City Council spent $60,000 for the study of what to do with the property and golf course that was once the Brewton Country Club.
Matt Leavell, an architect and developer with the University of Alabama's Center for Economic Development, displayed a site analysis and possible master plan for what the city could do with 100-acre property.
Leavell said the concept and study was based on what the Brewton community needed and wanted and it came down to housing. He noted the property was once an airport and then a golf course. He also noted the property was a natural open place for development.
Leavell said housing was identified as a need for Brewton with businesses coming in and employees having no place to live within the city limits of Brewton.
The plan he displayed showed 428 housing units that included town\houses, apartments, cottages and single-family homes. It also included areas for walking trails and some retail businesses.
He added that it provides an option for a variety of ages from professionals to retirees and young families with a vision statement for Brewton to be a place to grow a business, the place to grow a family and a place to grow old.
Leavell noted it was a concept study in a way to identify the vision for Brewton, noting some members of the city council were seeing the drawings for the first time.
A resolution for the city council to vote on for the to approve the 'conceptual master plan as submitted' for the development of Dogwood Hills was taken off the agenda and no votes were taken during Monday afternoon's meeting.
"I don't see any school, I don't see anything," Councilman Joe Watson said as the looked at the plan on the video screen. "It's just a bunch of houses."
Watson said Brewton is losing population and this concept does nothing to draw people to Brewton.
"We've got enough trails in Brewton," Watson said.
