Athens residents expressed concerns about a proposed 800-bed apartment complex off Richland Avenue at Monday's Athens City Council committee meeting.
In January, council members unanimously rejected a development agreement between the city and Edwards Communities, the Columbus-based developer of Summit at Coates Run.
The developers presented a new draft of the agreement, but without all the required, detailed paperwork, said Councilwoman Debbie Phillips, D- 4th Ward.
City Council likely will make a new requirement that all plan proposals must be complete and include all necessary paperwork before they are presented to council, Phillips said.
The proposed development, previously known as Campus Edge, will be on a hillside, which some residents say worries them.
Resident Muriel Grim said she thinks the developers did not think thoroughly about traffic flow and sewage systems, and she said the surrounding hillside would be damaged by the construction because it would alter the shape of the hillside.
Other residents' concerns included the size of the project and its environmental standings.
Several council members, including Phillips, said the plan was not specific enough and still had several problem areas, including needing more space for trees, a consulting engineer and disability access.
Despite residents' reservations and opposition to the project, developers asked for council to vote on a new agreement within six weeks.
In other committee news, Mayor Ric Abel announced that the city government's computer and phone networks might soon get a boost. The nine-year-old system would be replaced with a faster, more secure system. It would also alleviate recent congestion to the city's Web site, which city media coordinator Ron Forrest said received almost 1 million hits since January. Last year, the site had a total of 419,000 hits.
City officials are looking into several plans from Verizon, the most advanced of which costs $647,000 and includes a mobile system that would allow city officials to work online from any point in the city. The mayor said the system also would allow police officers to write reports and check vehicle license information more efficiently.
17 Archives
Dianne Selden
