Controversial housing development approved

By Emily Tate, Managing Editor

Trinitas Ventures will move ahead with its plans to construct Fields at Southpointe, a housing development proposed along Route 27, following approval at Tuesday's Oxford City Council meeting.

The Fields at Southpointe will include 82 buildings, with 22 single-family units, 54 duplexes and six townhomes. In total, it will offer 668 bed spaces across 13.6 acres of green space.

This decision - and the land in question - comes with a history. In the last decade, the space has been rezoned several times by Butler County and Oxford, and in the last year, Trinitas' housing project has prompted a lawsuit and public dissent from residents and students alike.

Councilor Steve Snyder spoke during Tuesday's meeting about the decade-long path that led to Trinitas' proposed development. In spring 2014, when the area was again rezoned, Snyder said members of city council were promised it would not result in student housing. Instead, they hoped for more family or senior housing.

But now, with Trinitas' proposal, it's clear the new housing development will primarily attract students, said City Manager Doug Elliot in a separate meeting. Although the amended proposal that passed Tuesday includes several townhouses and dozens of duplexes, Elliot said permanent residents wouldn't choose to live in such close quarters with students.

"Families don't want to live near students," Elliot said. "They're loud."

Snyder said he doesn't want to see any more student housing in Oxford.

"Personally, I don't think this community needs additional student housing," Snyder said. "I also think we don't need vape stores and hookah bars and that

we have an overabundance of niche restaurants. But that's not up to me. That's decided by our free market system."

Elliot expressed his own disappointment in the continued housing growth.

"It's no secret," Elliot said, "that even though [Oxford is] dependent on Miami University, there are folks in town that really don't want to see any more student housing - be it Uptown, the old Wal-mart site, Southpointe. We struggle with that a bit."

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Elliott acknowledged the student housing surplus in Oxford, but he said new developments continue to crop up because builders believe they can build a better complex that generates higher demand than current facilities. That, he said, is likely why Trinitas decided to build here.

"They feel they are going to have a superior product," Elliot said.

The main themes from Tuesday's meeting were those of regret and resignation. One by one, the councilors said they wished they'd voted differently last year when deciding to rezone the land, but that they ultimately have to live with their decision.

"I regret my voting for the rezoning," Snyder said. "I'd like a do-over, but that isn't going to happen."

Councilor Edna Southard reflected on her decision to rezone last year, but said she knows she can't change it.

"We can't turn back the clock," Southard said.

Mayor Kevin McKeehan echoed the others.

"We're just wishing we could revisit the zoning change from a few years ago," McKeehan said. "Hindsight is always perfect."

Despite their regrets, the councilors found a silver lining.

Before the amended proposal was passed Tuesday, Trinitas Ventures took the city to court over the development. In the end, they settled on a different plan - the plan that was accepted Tuesday.

Councilor Richard Keebler said he thought the mediation process made the proposed development stronger and better. Councilor Bob Blackburn agreed.

"Through the mediation process, we gained a lot," Blackburn said. "Wider streets, more green space, two- and three-story buildings where we were going to have one-story buildings. And I think it's going to be, really, a better project. We stood up and said no, and we kind of got what we wanted."