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Backed by angry homeowners, the Summerfield Zoning Board voted -- for the second time in less than a year -- to deny a request to amend zoning conditions for the Armfield subdivision Monday night.

After being turned down by the board in December and by the town council in February, Jim Brady and Summerfield Properties investment group proposed a revised rezoning plan to save their financially struggling development, which they say was plagued by mismanagement by the company that originally marketed the homes in 2003.

The latest request called for zoning amendments on 370 acres of the 578-acre property that would:

• Increase density from 0.50 to 0.58 units per acre.

• Limit multi-family development to 20 lots, a maximum of 334 residential lots on the site overall, eight lots fewer than a previous request.

• Eliminate proposed access to Brookbank Road.

The development was zoned as conditional-use open-space residential in 2003 and capped at 290 lots. So far, the development has platted only 92 lots.

Brady said the proposal met all requirements under town zoning ordinances and would bring diversified housing to the upscale community.

"One of the original things our plan didn't have was a diverse range of housing, from price points to sizes of pieces of property," Brady said. "We are trying to meet the market conditions, which have changed dramatically since '03. This represents a more diverse and healthy housing development."

Homeowners disagreed, some saying they bought in Armfield because of the rural atmosphere and were worried that increased density would bring down property values and burden roads, schools and the water system.

"I don't see more diversity -- I see more problems, more headaches for the township and individual homeowners," said Dwight Santiago, an Armfield resident.

"Armfield sold to us representing single-family homes, and this is not what we are being led down the path to," Santiago said.

"This isn't going to benefit me or my neighbors," Santiago said. "I would love to see a plan that's going to show my quality of life as it exists and what's going to come forward will improve."

The board voted unanimously to deny the request, saying the proposal didn't preserve property rights, promote safe transportation or preserve natural resources.

"The horse was let out of the barn originally when this was voted to rezone to begin with," board member Trudy Whitacre said.

"It's one of those things that's going to keep coming back and keep coming back until it gets developed."

The case will be heard by the town council at its Sept. 11 meeting.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the rezoning of about 19 acres at 3511 Oak Ridge Road from residential single-family (RS-30) to conditional-use open space residential. The request was made by J Bar D Construction.

• Voted to continue a rezoning case on 56 acres at 2613 and 2615-2617 Pleasant Ridge Road. The property is proposed to be rezoned from agricultural and single-family residential (RS-40) to conditional-use open space residential district. The case will be heard Sept. 24.

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7157 or rseals@news-record.com