By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
Piedmont city officials were in Las Vegas last week for a shopping center convention in hopes of attracting more business to Piedmont.
City Manager Jason Orr and Mayor Valerie Thomerson accompanied Rickey Hayes of Retail Attractions Inc.
“It’s the same feedback for the last two years,” Orr said. “They’re very interested in the quality of life in Piedmont, the disposable income but we lack the housing density. Piedmont is a very spread-out community. Everyone wants their two-acre plus lots and these businesses want density of population in housing and we don’t have that,” he said.
Thomerson encountered the same issue.
“The conference was absolutely overwhelming, acres and acres of vendors. The thing that I heard repeated the most that hurt us was and has for years is that we don’t’ have enough density but that’s what makes Piedmont, Piedmont is the fact that we don’t have that density. Frankly, I’m not sure we want it. That seems to be our biggest hang-up. People are interested and liked what they’re hearing but it’s that density that holds them back,” Thomerson said.
It was not all bad news.
“We did talk to several smaller companies that would be interested in Piedmont,” Orr said.
He declined to say which businesses were interested in taking the Piedmont bait but said most of them were restaurants.
Orr said attracting business to Piedmont is an “uphill” battle and “we knew that going in,” but city officials are planning to take a new strategy to address density at least in one area of town.
“The council approved $50,000 to hire an architect to have some input from city council members, the public for a downtown development district,” Orr said. “The plan could build some density in a downtown residential area and we are going to build a master plan for that. We will have public meetings for citizens to speak.”
The city has recently met with resistance on previous rezoning requests for the downtown area and agricultural lands to be rezoned for rental property and lots smaller than five acres. Citizens have opposed those requests during hearings at city council meetings this year.
The Vegas trip was paid for by city funds. Orr said the cost of the convention was $600 per person, the plane tickets were $200 each and the hotel rooms were $100 a night. Thomerson paid for her own plane ticket. Orr said he has not yet turned in a full expense report for reimbursement from the city.
