LYNCHBURG — Does Moore County need affordable housing? If the answer is yes, then is Gateway Development Corporation the right project? If their 42-unit project moves ahead, will it fast forward local infrastructure needs at the cost of taxpayers?
These are the questions Metro Council members pondered during a presentation from Tom Woods – a representative for the developers, who appeared before the Metro Council Monday night seeking permission to move forward with a 42-unit affordable housing development on 5.1 acres located behind the Moore County Co-op – a project derailed earlier this year when the Council voted to cap multi-family dwelling projects at just 25 units.
According to Woods, The Gateway Companies owns 9,000 doors and manages another 17,000 doors in Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana.
Woods outlined a detailed timeline of his company’s efforts, saying he began pursuing the property in January after learning Moore County had been ranked by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) as a top-need area for affordable housing three years in a row. Woods said Gateway had been preparing an application for federal low-income housing tax credits through THDA’s competitive process when the zoning ordinance was changed – effectively disqualifying the project.
“I don’t know how you can say that it’s fair to pull the zoning out from under it,” Woods told council members. “All I’m asking is to be able to continue under the old R1 zoning and build the 42 units.”
The proposed $8–9 million development would not be Section 8 housing, Woods emphasized, but rather a 30-year tax-credit project with rents ranging from about $590 for a one-bedroom to $815 for a three-bedroom. He estimated the project would generate roughly $75,000 a year in property taxes, compared to the current $258 on the undeveloped lot.
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Water Capacity and Infrastructure Concerns
Councilman Dexter Golden, who also chairs the Metro Planning Commission, responded that the decision to change the zoning earlier this year was based on long-term water capacity concerns, not opposition to Gateway specifically.
“We’re operating close to 80 percent capacity on our water system,” Golden said. “Yes, that means we can still issue permits, but it also means we need to be thinking about a 10-year plan. We were trying to be proactive, not reactive.”
Golden noted that in past developments, assurances of “no cost to the county” had proven untrue over time as infrastructure demands increased.
Water Department representative Glenn Thomas added that while the county’s water plant produces about 34 million gallons a month, with Jack Daniel’s consuming nearly six million, there is still some margin available for new customers.
“It would not cost us anything, but we would be getting all the revenue,” Thomas said. “All we’re going to do is put a meter in and read it – and we need customers like this piece.”
Questions About Need and Oversight
Other council members raised questions about building codes, inspection oversight, and the true local need for additional apartments. Woods cited a THDA market study showing a countywide need for nearly 1,700 rental units, though some members challenged whether that figure reflected genuine community demand.
“We were trying to be proactive about what we thought would be good for our community,” said Chairperson Amy Cashion. “It has nothing to do with you or your company, but with what we want our community to look like and what our infrastructure can support.”
Next Steps
After discussion, Peggy Sue Blackburn made a motion to return the issue to the Metro Planning Commission for further consideration, but her motion didn’t receive a second and died on the floor. This essentially leaves Gateway with a 42-unit award they can’t obtain permits to build and one local property owner with a pending real estate contract.
Chairperson Cashion emphasized that any potential changed to either the zoning of the property or the ordinance for multi-family dwellings would take at least two months to process.
The Metro Council meets on the third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion Building located at 119 Booneville Highway in Lynchburg. To be added to the public comment section or have your issue added to the agenda, reach out to Mayor Sloan Stewart’s office at 931-759-7076. •
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