If residents of TimberCreek, or anywhere else for that matter, think that because their properties are not directly adjacent to the development then consider the tale of the non-golf course lots on Green Court.

When phase 4 was ready to be sold Woodrow Lane was largely unpaved and the wooded area on either side of the Lane provided a nice buffer from the sights and sounds of Hwy 181.  The new residents of Green Court were assured that this land would remain as wilderness and they settled on to their new back porches to enjoy watching the squirrels and birds.

One day, not too long after, civil engineers came along Woodrow Lane with their blue paint and started marking out sites.  The concerned residents headed over to City Hall only to find that the deals were done and that they would soon be having commercial property built quite literally in their back yards.

The residents were promised that a line of wilderness would remain behind the commercial development and that there would be no need for concern about unsightly views or noise.  If you want to see for yourself how that promise held up take a room at the Holiday Inn and look out of your bedroom window - I'll be the one waving back to you from my porch; and if you use the pool, try to keep the noise down please as I may have a migraine.

So, in summary, here's how it works:

Step 1.  Council and/or owners tell residents "no need to worry"
Step 2.  Planning Commission sub-divides and/or re-zones land.
Step 3.  Residents get told again:  "don't worry"
Step 4.  Ground is broken and building begins.
Step 5.  Residents get told: "it will be fine, we'll just plant some trees..."
Step 6.  House values plummet and residents can't use their back yards for fear of seeing R-Rated activity in hotel bed rooms.

We have already passed step 1; step 2 starts next week when the Daphne City Council meet to agree on the new zoning map and then the following week when the Planning Commission meets to vote on the sub-division.

Step 3 is already in progress because we get told that the Magnolia 9 is going to be leased as a golf course for 5 years.  Well what about after that time?  If, as already planned, Woodrow Lane is developed as a service road for I-10 the land will be extemely valuable to commercial developers, especially if the economy has rebounded and there is renewed investment.

We still have time to stop them at step 2 so I urge everyone in TimberCreek to go to City Hall on Monday April 5th for the 6.30pm Council Meeting that will decide on the new Daphne Zoning Map.

The current map, pictured below, shows the Magnolia 9 as a golf course; there are no prizes for guessing what the new map will show.

Light Blue is Commercial, Green is Golf Course, Red & Yellow are Residential.