Collegiate Times

“Rutherford is currently at the beginning of the rezoning process. We’ve had a neighborhood meeting…and they’re scheduled to go to a planning commission in July, and most likely a Town Council (hearing) in August,” Warren said.

In order to conform to the density requirements of an RM-48 district, Rutherford has undergone some changes to support its rezoning.

“Rutherford Townhomes will be eliminating the dumpsters on site which have contributed to unsightly conditions. Individual trash cans have been purchased for each unit…a commercial refuse service will handle the removal of trash twice per week,” according to the support narrative the Rutherford HOA attached to its rezoning application.

“A new landscaping company has been hired to maintain the property even better than before. Restriping of the parking lots is scheduled to occur that will add extra spaces along with visitor parking spaces,” the narrative said.

Parking is an issue that both Clover Valley and Rutherford have strived to address. Rutherford, unlike Clover Valley, will not undergo any physical reconstruction to adjust for more parking.

“Historically, Rutherford has never had a parking problem, and this trend will continue into the future. The restriping of the spaces will allow visitors to park within the development and not along Giles Road or other adjacent streets,” the narrative said.

Another issue these complexes are dealing with is student partying, said Warren and Carley.

“We had a neighborhood meeting and there was one gentleman that spoke of some of the partying issues that he has been impacted by. I don’t think that the rezoning would generally increase those issues; I think that they still need to be addressed and that everybody has the responsibility to be a good neighbor,” Warren said.

“Student partying was one of the reasons I became president…I wanted to turn it around,” Carley said. “Rezoning allows us to legally collect rent from four instead of three people. The townhomes are better maintained because we’re allowed to collect more money.”

“It’s good for the town when we have more students available to rent from us. It allows for better maintenance and security. The more you maintain a property, the more likely students are to respect it,” she said.

The president of the Rutherford HOA, Gary Reynolds, opted not to comment on the rezoning issue.

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A version of this article appeared in the Jun 14 issue of the Collegiate Times.