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Jesse Brewer: Explaining reasons for my no vote on new residential development off Old North Bend Rd


At our most recent Boone County Fiscal Court meeting on Aug. 27, a majority of the fiscal court-approved, by a 3-1 vote, a new residential development off Old North Bend Road comprised of condos, townhouses, and patio homes. Of the four legislative members on the fiscal court, I was the only dissenting vote for this project for a multitude of reasons, which I will outline below.

First, let me say that I support thoughtful development projects that satisfy our community’s housing needs. I am also a big proponent of property rights and believe that all property owners should be able to sell their property for the highest value they can get, provided that the future use of this property complies with our zoning code and/or is consistent with our comprehensive plan and does not create a hazardous or unsafe environment in our community.

Jesse Brewer


The vote on this new development off of Old North Bend Road, which is located on the site adjacent to the existing Parlor Grove and Cardinal Cove neighborhoods, was a very difficult one for me to consider. The types of homes proposed for this site are not only nice and aesthetically pleasing, but they also are a type of housing product that we lack in the Hebron area and for which there is a demand and need.

The current site is zoned to allow for 112 single-family homes. The proposed development calls for 161 units. However, our planning and zoning experts stated that the proposed development would be less dense than allowed by the current zoning because of the demographics of the people who typically purchase these types of homes.

While I am not a planning and zoning expert, I have 14 years of experience in real estate, including working as a real estate broker, investing in real estate, and managing properties. Accordingly, I find little fault with this logic.

Even though I am not an expert in planning and zoning matters, I was elected as a Boone County Commissioner to vote on issues that come before fiscal court based on what I believe is right and wrong for this community. In carrying out these duties, I try to use logic and base my decisions on my life experience and professional experience to try to come to the best conclusions I reasonably reach from the information I have before me.

In the Hebron area alone, Boone County has approved more than 2,500 building permits for construction projects. With approval of this new residential project in Hebron, these developers now can build these 161 housing units whenever they are ready to do so without any further approvals by the fiscal court or planning commission.

It is no secret that Hebron already suffers from congestion and overcrowding issues. While I understand that relief is on the way with new road construction projects in the works, such as the Graves Road interchange, I personally do not believe now is the right time to add additional housing units and traffic to the existing density and congestion issues in this area. In the future, when these road improvements are completed and other infrastructure is put in place to address these problems, then my opinion on this issue could possibly change but not at this time.

Once again in the interest of transparency, I just wanted to let you know where I stood on this issue and share with you the reasoning behind my stance.

Jesse Brewer is a Boone County commissioner.


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6 Comments

  1. Marge Littleton says:

    And now the cost of housing inches higher and higher. My granddaughter has been renting a very average apartment for nearly $1000 a month and wants to own, and the while she’s been home shopping over the past 6 months, homes have quickly gone up in price, beyond her buying point so now she is stuck. Stalling or stopping new houses is not a heroic, brag worthy cause, it hurts the residents of the county. No one can afford a house anymore because there is no inventory. If having a little extra traffic allows my grand kids to be able to move into and own a house one day I will deal with the traffic. It’s better than them renting an apartment or moving back in with me or their parents. Or, worse yet, having homeless people litter the sidewalks since all housing is unattainable costly. I’ll take stacked cars on the road, over stacked tents on the side walk and day of the week. Thank you.

  2. Lee Nauser says:

    Agreed. A lack of housing in relation to a steady rise in population growth equals the California homeless crisis. People think that crisis is due to drugs or mental illness. It really is due to a $200,000.00 house in ohio or kentucky equaling the same house for $600,000.00 there. supply and demand. The same thing is slowly happening all over the country. Smart counties and states are encouraging housing, not choking it off like California has been doing for decades. It really is a simple balance if you align population growth and X amount of homes available to that population. I mean traffic is everywhere all the time. That’s like 50 years ago people saying new york city is going to have too much traffic if they keep building all of these buildings HAHA.
    And then if they didn’t build them another city/county would and would be the largest city in america, not new york, and they would have missed out on being of the of largest concentrated economies in the world. This logic is simply more residents and growth for the ohio side of the river. Let it be then.

  3. Mindy Moore says:

    What’s up with this cat? “”Boone County has issued too many building permits and is starting to get congestion? “”
    “”Hey guys! Boone County is still #1 for growth and ecnonomy in the state. it’s about time we reverse course and be more like a poor county with huge budget short falls and an exodus of people!””
    Just because the talk of Amazon traffic is a hot topic doesn’t mean you have to pander to those people to try to elevate your own political position. part and parcel he says.

  4. Amanda Lure says:

    Thanks a lot Jessie Brewer, I now have to wait yet another year before a new subdivision starts so I can try to move out of my start house. 🙁

  5. Lisa Farrar says:

    I saw news of this on Facebook. Are county Commissioners voted in or appointed? I’m going to actively campaign for whoever runs against this guy if it is a public vote. I know the realtors groups will not be happy with this news that he’s stopping all new housing developments in the county. 🙁

  6. Patricia says:

    Why doesn’t this man want new homes in the area? We have been patiently waiting for new ranches to get built so we can downsize for our lifestyle. Would there have been ranches in this new neighborhood this man cancelled?

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