A proposed residential development in McCalla got the go-ahead Thursday after the developer made changes to bring it in line with nearby communities.

K&K Properties LLC began its journey toward commission approval in October 2024. The developer’s initial plan called for the construction of garden homes.

“Originally, there were 59 lots proposed,” urban planner Michael Morrison said. “They reduced that to 43 lots and now what they’re proposing is down to 23 lots. The overall density is comparable to what’s in the adjacent subdivision of Carroll Cove, and each lot has more than 15,000 square feet in order to sustain a septic system.”

Commissioners unanimously approved the request to rezone the property to R1 residential. Approval came with the following staff recommendations:

• No duplexes to be allowed.
• Garages shall be side loaded.
• Visual screening with buffering mechanisms to be required along the south property line where adjacent to A-1 agricultural property, as compatible with topography and drainage.
• Sidewalks shall be provided in the development and along Eastern Valley Road.

“I appreciate that developer working with us to do this job,” Commissioner Joe Knight said. Commission President Jimmie Stephens later echoed that sentiment.

“It was a successful resolution because the developer was willing to work with us,” Stephens said. “The solution — and it is very well depicted in the explanation — was to have a community that was congruent to its surrounding areas. The density, the house sizes … I believe it is a compromise that the community will be able to live with, and the developer will be able to flourish.

“We appreciate the addition of the sidewalks,” the commission president added. “We look forward to continuing to work with this developer and to see his finished product.”

Praise for Parker High Team

The commission meeting included a resolution honoring the Parker High School football team for winning the Class 6A state football championship of the Alabama High School Athletic Association. The Smithfield campus is in Commissioner Sheila Tyson’s district.

“Parker is up the street from where I was raised from the third grade,” Tyson said. “That’s when we moved to West End. Parker is embedded in my veins, and I’ll never forget where I came from and I want the best for you. I really, really want the best for you.”

Stephens, a former educator, said that you get more out of students when more is expected of them.

“If we don’t expect anything, we won’t get anything, and if we expect more, we will obtain more,” he said. “That applies to each of you also. You have created a legacy (where) everyone from this point on will remember this team as the foundation of a great football dynasty and a great academic area in which the young men of Parker High School will go on to great things.”