Thanks for watching. This is Guy Rawlings and Sheri Falk. It's common for cities across the country to build high rise apartments and subdivisions. But one local city is saying it won't be accepted. Tonight the Helena City Council voted on a new community proposal. WVTM 13 S Bryce Osseren joins us live from the scene to give you the lowdown on what happened at that meeting. Well, people had the opportunity to voice their opinions at tonight's meeting. Residents say they felt disrespected by the corporation's proposal to build housing in their city. This was an insult, because we as citizens are here to represent, obviously, our homes, our future. Please make a motion that we, the council, Glenwood and the town of Helena, oppose the development of a large subdivision. The motion is withdrawn. What they were trying to do was to have a high density development. It's more or less five units per acre built in the middle of farmland with a sewage treatment plant on site. The exact opposite of what Helena approved as a comprehensive plan in 2022 happened, the city council voted against it and the company that was trying to build it withdrew its offer. It was a bit of a humiliation for me because the proposed developer, Dr. Horton, paid his employees to come here and take up half the seats on this council. And they didn't get their way, so they walked out in the middle of the council meeting and disrupted the proceedings. The kids couldn't even get to their seats because they were taking up space. The city says the expansion is inevitable. The city understands the growth that's going to happen on Highway 13. I think we, the council, should use our votes to make sure that the development there is really smart, that we control what we can control and plan for growth. Residents say Helena's future is bright Helena is a small town, but it's trying to be a big town. And we're trying to be a big town. In the right way. Our next meeting will be held on Monday, September 9th. Live from Birmingham. Bryce Ortho
'Helena is a small town learning how to grow': Helena votes against zoning
The city of Helena is opposed to the development of a large subdivision. The city council voted against it, and the company that planned to build it withdrew its proposal. “This is an insult because we, the citizens, are obviously representing our homes and our future. What they were trying to do was build a high-density development, five homes per acre, in the middle of more or less farmland, with its own sewage treatment plant. All in direct opposition to what the city of Helena approved as its Comprehensive Plan in 2022,” Joey Roberto said. Elected officials say expansion within the city is inevitable. “The city understands that growth is going to happen on Highway 13, and we believe it's up to us and the city council to control what we can control and make sure that the development there is smart, and that we execute on our growth plan,” Helena Mayor J. Brian Puckett said. Residents say the future of Helena is bright. “Helena is a small town, but we're trying to become a big town, and we're trying to become a big town the right way,” Roberto said. The city's next meeting is Monday, Sept. 9.
The City of Helena opposes large subdivision developments.
The city council voted against it, and the company planning to build it withdrew its offer.
“It's an insult because we, the citizens, are obviously representing our homes and our futures. What they were trying to do was build a high density development, five homes per acre, more or less in the middle of farmland, and have their own sewage treatment plant, all in direct opposition to what Helena approved as their Comprehensive Plan in 2022,” Joey Roberto said.
Elected officials say expansion within the city is inevitable.
“The city understands and recognizes that development is going to happen on Highway 13, and I think it's up to us and the votes of the city council to make sure that development there is smart, that we control what we can control and that we have planned development,” Helena Mayor J. Brian Puckett said.
Residents say Helena's future looks bright.
“Helena is a small town, but we're trying to become a big town, and we're trying to become a big town the right way,” Roberto said.
The city's next meeting will be held on Monday, September 9th.