LOXLEY, Alabama — The Loxley Town Council voted Monday, June 12 to deny a rezoning request for Phase Two of the Valamour Subdivision amid concerns from several residents of Phase One that the change would be detrimental to why they chose to purchase homes in the subdivision.

“We looked at several subdivisions in the area and they were all the same,” said one resident. “We chose this subdivision because it was different from the rest and now they are trying to change it.”

Owners of the property, located off of County Road 66 in Loxley, requested the change from R-1A to R-1B. While both zoning designations are single family residential, R-1B allows for narrower lots and would have allowed property owners to place lots closer together. The proposed Phase Two includes about 140 lots.

“My biggest concern is that it would greatly reduce the footprint of the lots,” said one resident of Phase 1, “making the space between the lots really small.”

Reducing the size of the lots would have added about five to seven lots to the project, according to residents who spoke during the public hearing.

The town council also heard from the owner of the property and a real estate appraiser hired to assess the potential change in property value caused by the reduction in lot size.

The appraiser assessed property values in another D.R. Horton subdivision, located near Spanish Fort but within the limits of the town of Loxley, council members said.

The appraiser assessed property values over a two-year period using the Baldwin County Association of Realtors multiple listing service (MLS), saying that in most cases, property values decreased less than $1 per square foot.

“I don’t think you can compare the two subdivisions,” said one property owner. “I believe that doing this will make the property less desirable.”

Council member Richard Teal said he believed that the council should follow the recommendation of the town’s Planning Commission to deny the request. Motion was made by council member Katherine Breeden and seconded by Jeff Knight. Council members voted unanimously to deny the petition with all present.

In other business, the council voted to conditionally accept road maintenance for the Osprey Ridge subdivision, while voting to table a request for road maintenance from the Stonebridge Phase 1B subdivision.

“I have some concerns that I feel need to be addressed,” said Shawn Alves with Stone, Grenade and Crosby, the town’s legal counsel.

The council voted to approve the Osprey Ridge request, provided that certain conditions are met. If those conditions are met, the council would then consider approving the request for the Stonebridge subdivision.

Also on Monday, June 12, the council approved a donation request from the Robertsdale High School dance team, but tabled a donation request to help pave the parking lot at Loxley Elementary School to determine how much funding would be provided by the Baldwin County School System.