Council held public hearings concerning the matter during its regular monthly meeting. One hearing focused on the voluntary annexation into the city limits of two tracts of land in the Briarwood Subdivision.

The two tracts total 42.85 acres and are contiguous to the existing city limits. City water and sewer service are also available to the tracts from Bywood Drive. The land fronts on Somerset Drive and Bywood Drive.

Another hearing pertained to the closure of a portion of Bywood Drive in the Briarwood Subdivision in Somerset.

The portion of Bywood Drive that is under consideration for closure is a gravel street that does not have any houses on it.

MHCDC wants to include that segment of the street as part of the project area.

Henry Newell Jr., one of a trio of the Bywood Drive property owners, requested that the closure of the street be contingent upon the sale of the land to MHCDC.

The final public hearing regarding the project called for rezoning the land, which was annexed into the city. The land was zoned Residential Medium Density.

The MHCDC plan is to construct 29 one-bedroom independent units targeted for elderly residents. A community building is also slated to be a part of the complex.

The original site for the housing community, which will be called “Bernie’s Blessing,” was off of the Durham Road, near Azalea Drive. Unfavorable environmental tests at that site, however, postponed the project.

Councilwoman Merilyn Newell, one of the three landowners at the proposed site, abstained from voting on the matters. Each passed without dissent.