Several matters involving real estate were considered by the Hampton City Council at its March 8 regular meeting.

The council approved the first reading of two ordinances regarding rezoning requests by Fairlane Capital LLC for a 27.98-acre tract at East King Road and Hwy. 20 as well as an adjacent 19.44-acre piece of property on the south side of Hampton-Locust Grove Road just east of where it splits off from McDonough Street and across from the Fortson Library. The sites have been previously zoned R-1 and R-2 (single-family residential) and the entire property is intended to be rezoned PD (planned development) for a mix of houses and townhomes that will be developed together.

Both first readings passed with a 4-2 vote. The second reading of the ordinances will likely take place next month. In the public hearing immediately preceding the council meeting, there was one comment in favor of the rezoning and none in opposition.

In other business, two separate ordinances that address annexation requests passed their first readings. One is to annex approximately 572 acres on the east side of the city, and the other would allow about 803 acres on the west side of the city to be annexed. The former request passed 5-1 and the latter was approved 6-0.

A resolution involving the city’s acquisition of a half-acre property via eminent domain passed by a 6-0 vote. The site is at the corner of McDonough Street and Hampton-Locust Grove Road, and the $33,000 transaction was deemed necessary as part of the work planned for the intersection to address inadequate visibility and sight distance while improving crosswalk safety, according to city staff documents. Officials also noted that the previous property owners were in agreement with the price and the taking, as there were issues with the title of the property and the taking was deemed the most expeditious method.

The second reading of an ordinance concerning the reporting structure of the city clerk and the authority of the city manager passed by a 4-2 vote, after a motion to postpone the matter failed 3-4 with the mayor breaking the tie.
Proclamations were read at the meeting in recognition of the basketball and wrestling teams at Hampton High School, both of which reached the state tournament this season. A third proclamation recognized March 21 as World Down Syndrome Day in the city.