CORRECTION: We originally reported that the vote was 4-2, that was incorrect. The vote was 6-1 , with Rod Freeman the only vote against, not Mayor Betsy Crossley as originally reported. We apologize for the mistake and have corrected it.
The final vote has been cast for Brentwood’s decision on residential use in the Town Center and the commission voted 6-1 that the city will not allow residential properties in the C-4 zoning area.
The decision comes after a month long discussion on the issue weighing the pros of having downtown living amenities available and the cons of the amount of traffic and changes to the character of the Brentwood Town Center if residential development was allowed to take hold.
Commissioner Rod Freeman voted against the ordinance, saying that they would like to a limited amount of housing available in the Brentwood Town Center.
The city commission originally allowed residential in the Brentwood Town Center area in the hopes that it would be contained to spaces above retail and offices. But there were no restraints on developers that made residential housing developments like Tapestry a no go while also having second-floor residential available.
The commission did note that banning residential housing in Town Center now does not mean that residential will never be possible there. But it would be up to future commissioners to decide to lift the ban and allow developers to build residences in the Brentwood Town Center.
