The Madison City Council approved a zoning map amendment at its Aug. 12 meeting to rezone 34.754 acres of property on Sovis Road from Light Industrial/Manufacturing to a Planned Commercial District.
The approval clears the way for the Madison Luxury RV Park, which is planned for a property on Sovis Road by Brooks Pennington, IV (BPIV Development and Ernst Enterprises).
The city’s planning & zoning commission had recommended approval of the request at its July 30 meeting by a vote of 4-1.
The site was originally intended for industrial use, but Pennington said the tract's topography was not ideal for such development.
According to city documents, “a creek runs through the center of the subject property, ultimately dividing it in half, and it has significant topographical challenges.”
Pennington told councilmembers that he was born and raised in Madison and that his plans for the property are long-term in nature.
“I want to see and develop sustainable, lasting projects that are beneficial to this community, so my kids can grow up knowing the Madison I grew up loving and still love today,” Pennington said.
Pennington hired an engineering firm to assess the site, and the firm concluded that 17 acres were usable.
The tract also has multiple easements and infrastructure that make a large-scale industrial development even less feasible, according to material submitted by Pennington.
Pennington then decided that “Madison would be an ideal place to have a higher-end recreational vehicle park,” including a bathhouse, washers and dryers, and water and sewer hookups.
The paved roads in the park will be 24 feet wide, with 45 lots in the first phase and 110 to 120 lots when completed, according to plans submitted by Pennington. “Each site will have a gravel drive and parking area with greenspace on either side. A proposed buffer of 50 feet shall be provided along the western development boundary shared with Anthony Specialty Glass and Bard Manufacturing Company.”
According to Pennington, benefits to the community include:
• An additional option or lodging and an alternative to hotels, which enhances tourism to Madison.
• The development will also enable locals who desire to sell their current home to build on their local property to do so and stay local without having to encumber themselves with a long-term lease.
• Many local businesses, such as restaurants and retail stores, will benefit from the development. The RV park’s customers will be eating and shopping locally, providing additional revenues they would not otherwise have received.
• Sales tax revenue to Madison/Morgan County.
• Property tax revenue.Considering that the site is not ideally developed as zoned and has sat on the open market for years, creating the RV park will result in a higher assessed value to the property, increasing the property tax revenue.