SALEM, Va. – The amended HopeTree Family Services rezoning must be read and voted on by the Salem City Council twice before it’s approved or thrown out. On Monday, council members will make their first vote.
However, it won’t be the first time they have voted on this topic.
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10 News first learned about the HopeTree proposal back in January of this year.
From that point, here are some of the key points as to how the proposal got back on the table:
Salem Planning Commission has first public hearing over the proposal (Feb. 14)
The planning commission heard hours of public input on the proposal. At the time the proposal called for up to 340 homes, 60 hotel rooms, 15,000 square feet of office space and 7,500 square feet of restaurant space.
City council and Planning Commission have work session (Feb. 21)
Discussions continued over the rezoning proposal. There was no public comment at the meeting.
City Council votes to approve HopeTree Rezoning (June 10)
HopeTree’s application was amended three times, including limiting commercial space and holding the hotel to a maximum of 34 rooms. Thirty-five percent of the development is to remain open space.
The vote was split 3-2 with Mayor Renee Turk and council members Randy Foley and Bill Jones on the prevailing side.
City Council would vote two weeks later during a second reading to officially approve the rezoning.
Lawsuit filed against city and HopeTree (July 23)
Five people who live near the HopeTree Services site in Salem have filed the lawsuit. Laid out over 20 pages, the lawsuit alleges the project will bring an influx of traffic to the area and increase their home property taxes.
HopeTree submits new rezoning application (August)
In reaction to the lawsuits, HopeTree submitted a new rezoning application and requested that the city approve the rezoning plan again. In the rezoning narrative for the new application, HopeTree stated that it “does not wish for any uncertainty surrounding the procedural processes to detract from its efforts on behalf of those HopeTree serves.”
Joint Public hearing between Planning Commission and City Council (Nov. 13)
After hearing public input for over an hour, the Planning Commission voted 4-1 to recommend approval of the rezoning.
Salem City Council first reading and vote (Nov. 25)
On Monday, City Council will once again revisit the HopeTree conversation.