Land Use

1 LAND USE COMMITTEE EDWARDSVILLE PLAN COMMISSION February 9, 2017 7:00 PM PRESENT ABSENT Beth Schlueter, Chairman Ben Powell Veronica Armouti, Vice Chairman John Mullane, PC Chairman William Catalano Larry Miller Mark Rabe Paul Pitts Scott Hanson, Staff Kellie Shelton, Staff Chief Welle, Staff Lisa Schneck, Staff Dennis Denby, Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Forrest Lerch, Lerch Homes At the regular meeting of the Plan Commission's Land Use Committee, the following item was discussed: Case 2017-01: Stone Cliff Manor – Phase 2 Developer: Retail Place LLC Engineer: Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Scott Hanson gave staff’s report on this development. This is Phase 2 of Stone Cliff Manor. Phase 1 was platted in 2004-2005. This portion was preliminary platted at the same time but due to various changes in the market, this portion expired because there were no capital improvements. At the time, City Council had extended the time and given the developer five years to develop this portion. The remaining portion is 99.6 acres. It is located on the right side of the road as you go north on Staunton Road. It is comprised of 106 lots. This property is outside city limits but located within the 1.5 mile planning boundary. The 2010 Comprehensive Plan shows this tract as being within the Neighborhood designation. It is not located within the I-55 Corridor area. There are a couple of variances requested with this plat. 1. The developer is asking for five (5) years to develop this phase instead of the normal two (2) years. 2. There is a request for the maximum length of permanent, dead-end streets to exceed 500 feet which is called out in the Land Development Code. Hanson mentioned there may be a third variance for the single entrance to the subdivision but after further discussion there are two entrances to the subdivision in Phase 1 and Phase 2 has only 106 lots so there should not be the need for the variance for the number of entrances. The developer will buy out the active greenspace requirement. Dennis Denby with Crawford, Murphy & Tilly was asked to add any additional details. He did not think there would be a lot more to add. He displayed a large version of both phases of the subdivision. He pointed out the two entrances into the subdivision to clarify there would be no need for the third variance  2 of the single entrance to the subdivision as previously mentioned. The arterial street will follow through into Phase 2 until the around about. There will be no driveway access along this street. There are a series of cul-de-sacs also proposed in this phase. The property is very rolling so the streets are laid out running on the ridge lines. This will allow for a lot of walk-out basement opportunities. The street layout in the second phase is exactly the same as what was proposed in 2004 when it was approved by both the City of Edwardsville and Madison County. The only difference is the layout of the lots. These lots are a little bit wider so the development has fewer lots. There is also a street which is stubbed to the south property line as originally presented. This could possibly connect at Route 143 if the property to the south were to become available for development. This street is not an arterial street so there are driveways planned for this section of the roadway. Schlueter stated that Plan Commission is not fond of cul-de-sacs now. Would the topography allow for squared off design for walkability? Denby stated the topography has some gullies and the developer would like to maintain the wooded areas. Since this is a second phase to Phase 1 which only gives the one access point to work with. They understood the fire department’s concerns with only one entrance to phase 2 such as an accident or tree falling across the road which would deny access to this phase. They feel the boulevard with the two 18- foot lanes would help the situation. They did meet with staff to try and work something out with the single entrance issue. The Chief was concerned if there was a fire on one side of the road and they had to lay a hose across the road to get to the hydrant on the other side it would block traffic. It was suggested to have hydrants on both sides of the street. The Chief seemed more comfortable with that idea as a compromise. It was also suggested looping some of the water lines in the cul-de-sacs. The developer would consider that but they are in a difficult spot because the City of Edwardsville does not provide water to this subdivision. It is provided by Bond Madison. Fire protection is not provided by Edwardsville either. It is located within Marine Fire District. They get caught in the middle between agencies. Hanson pointed out if they have to rank the options; they will be as follows - 1st being the best option: 1. Make a connection off the stub street to the south. 2. Loop the water lines. 3. Hydrants on both sides of the street. Hanson asked if there had been contact with the property owner to the south to see if that would be an option. No contact has been made. The property is currently not for sale. There is a smaller tract with a house and the larger tract is being farmed at this time. Lerch stated there is approximately 60+ acres of tillable land and the rest is wooded area. Could this development become grid style? Absolutely, but everything there would be destroyed to do it. There is an elevation difference of about 30 feet. This would destroy all of the chances of having walk out lots. All the trees would also be destroyed to move the dirt. Then there would be concerns with connecting the streets because culverts would have to be installed and maintained to allow for water to still flow. Then the lots would not have elevations to fall from the front yards to the rear yards. It would be from side yard to side yard. These lots would be less desirable. When they purchased the land, they assumed the Preliminary Plat was approved. When they were told it was not approved, they decided to adjust the lot lines to create wider lots. In the process of making the lots wider, they lost ten lots. The plat presented is the exact same footprint as the previously approved plat. Clarification was given that the hydrants on both sides of the street would be for all the cul-de-sacs which extend over 500 feet. This would be an additional six (6) hydrants. They will still need to get final approval from Bond Madison Water Company since they will own and maintain the water lines. Now the  3 code requires 1 hydrant every 300 feet and only on one (1) side of the street. The City was trying to find areas where the lines could be looped. It would be difficult to cross lots and country to get from cul-de-sac to cul-de-sac. If possible, this would create redundancies allowing for adequate water supply and pressure. Denby explained that Bond Madison Water Company has reviewed this plat and approved to service this subdivision with the cul-de-sac lengths as presented. Armouti asked if there was some way to create an easement for emergency vehicles only. Denby stated the property to the south is farm ground now. He didn’t think the owners would consider an easement because they would be losing a lot of tillable ground for access. Discussion regarding the variance request for an extension from two (2) years to five (5) years. Staff would not support this variance because the Land Development Code states the plat is good for two (2) years with an option to apply for an extension of time up to five (5) years as long as the developer shows vested interest in the development with installing public improvements. Denby stated the developer is planning on doing Phase 2 in multiple phases. Hanson explained the reason for coming back for an extension is that situations may change, such as a parcel becoming available for purchase for additional roadway access. This gives staff the opportunity to say the connection to a public roadway needs to occur. It was asked what the proposed completion date of the subdivision was. Lerch stated it would be hard to say. Right now they are planning for the first two cul-de-sacs. It would be based on supply and demand. There are no walk-out lots available at this time in Phase 1. The first phase would potentially be ready for this building season. Hanson stated staff would not support the request for five (5) years. By limiting the time frame to two (2) years, it allows staff the opportunity to implement other important policy considerations. Denby replied that the developer just wants the assurance that they have five (5) years to complete the project. Hanson understood and offered three (3) years at the maximum. Denby stated they would take any extra time they could get. Lerch added that they should look at it as a developer’s stand point. If they begin to develop the ground and then the City comes back and says they want the layout differently. It would have been better to change the elevations of the ground before waiting until the plat expires. In speaking regards to the two entrances, unless the developer owns property with two sides of street frontage, it will never happen. That is why they stub streets for the anticipation of new development. The phases planned were pointed out on the large plat. There will be five (5) phases. The phases are driven by the economy. If more lots are sold, it will progress quicker. Chief Rick Welle, Edwardsville Fire Department, gave his view on the public safety issue. He is very resistant to one entrance. It has been done previously under a Planned Unit Development which was a give and take situation. It was agreed to but they had to provide wider lanes and looping of the water lines. In this case, the City is handicapped so to speak because the property is not in the city limits, it is not a PUD process, it does not fall within the City’s fire protection, and the City does not have any control over the water. It does come back to the City for review because it is located within the mile and half boundary. The City does not want to stop the development. Staff knows it is difficult terrain. The priority is for the second entrance for good planning for an emergency management stand point. If a supply line (5-inch) is lying across the street, it would block the entrance to this phase for several hours. This is in the event of a simple fire. If there was something more intensive such as a tornado or earthquake, there would be absolutely no access to an injury or a fire. Clearly, the access point is not under the ownership of the petitioners. They could accept the longer cul-de-sacs if there was a second entrance. There is also an option for residential sprinklers. But at the very least, fire hydrants long both sides of the street so if there was an incident of a fire there wouldn’t be a hose stretched across the street. Staff has been very insistent  4 on the other developments in the past with either the emergency access or a trade off or just not approving without the second entrance. They are trying to be consistent with their message of good planning for emergency access. He added that looping the lines would also be a possibility. Anytime the lines are looped it creates better water flow. He can’t answer any questions about the water supply and pressure for this development since it is provided by another entity. Denby assured the water lines are adequate with a large system which is well maintained. Schlueter asked the developer which choice would be better for them. Lerch would be more comfortable with the additional fire hydrants. He is not fond of the idea of residential sprinklers and feels it would hinder the sale of these lots. He would even consider looping the lines but it would have to be approved by Bond Madison. It was asked if the developer would consider widening Brushwood Lane to make it a secondary street for possible future connection to Route 143 and also providing fire hydrants on both sides of the boulevards. Lerch stated he would be okay with doing both. It was discussed learning from mistakes and using Esic Drive as the example. The City does not want to run into the same situation as that area. It was also mentioned of the Willow Creek entrance issue. A question was asked if there was any timber line near the proposed roadway. Lerch stated it was all farm ground without trees. This would eliminate the concern with a tree falling across the road and blocking traffic. It would years down the road before any trees would be planted and large enough to cause a concern. Schlueter ask Denby to double check to make sure the extra ten (10) feet of roadway for Brushwood Lane would work. Denby stated it would be five (5) feet on each side and the lots along there are deep enough that it should work. Variance #1: Variance request to extend the development project from two years to five years. (Staff would not support this variance request. Staff would consider three years.) Vote by show of hands for variance from two years to five years – 2 yes – 4 no. Vote by show of hands for variance from two years to three years – 6 yes – 0 no. Variance #2: Variance request to extend the length of the cul-de-sac beyond 500 feet. Vote by show of hands for approval of the extension with the caveat of Brushwood Lane be widened to a secondary street and fire hydrants on both sides of Stone Cliff Boulevard – 6 yes – 0 no. RECOMMENDATION: Forward the Preliminary Plat for Phase 2 with the following variance recommendations: Variance #1: Variance to extend the development project from two year to three years. Variance #2: Variance to allow the extension of the cul-de-sacs with the caveat of Brushwood Lane be widened to a secondary street and fire hydrants on both sides of Stone Cliff Boulevard. REMINDER: PLAN COMMISSION MEETING: Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall, City Council Chambers, 118 Hillsboro Avenue.