MOUNT VERNON — Approximately 25 residents turned out on Thursday to learn the latest iteration of a proposed housing development on Vernonview Drive.
Attorney Chris Wallace of Plain City represented owner Joshua Williams and Arista Villas Mount Vernon LLC at the city’s Municipal Planning Commission meeting.
Williams is interested in developing a 40-acre parcel into a 101-unit subdivision of single-family homes. The parcel is located north of Upland Terrace and east of Woodside Drive.
This is the third time Williams has come before the commission with a development plan.
In 2023, he proposed rezoning the parcel from R-1 single-family to R-3 to accommodate a 232-unit townhome rental community. MPC members unanimously rejected the rezoning, suggesting another classification, such as PND (planned neighborhood development), might be more appropriate.
Williams tried again in April 2024, asking for the PND designation. The revised plan included building 46 single-family, owner-occupied homes, 150 multi-family units, and 24 townhomes.
The commission approved the rezoning by a 4-1 vote. However, MPC members said they opposed any plan that includes apartments or townhomes.
Mount Vernon City Council members also approved the rezoning, but residents overturned the decision through a referendum in the Nov. 5 General Election.
This time, Williams is proposing all single-family, owner-occupied homes built in two phases: lots 1-72 and lots 73-101.
Thursday’s meeting was a pre-application meeting, meaning the commission did not take action on the proposed development plan.
The public was not allowed to offer comment. Commission members did, however, ask Wallace questions community members posed.
They also provided guidance on what the plan lacks to comply with city zoning ordinances.
Wallace said the project engineer was unable to attend the meeting and cautioned that he might not know the answers to some of the questions.
What about infrastructure?
Current plans call for one entrance and exit for the development. However, the city’s transportation plan requires a minimum of three exits.
Mayor Matt Starr said the development will have to connect to Coshocton Avenue and also on the east with other development to alleviate traffic in both directions.
Safety-service Director Tanner Salyers said road crews cannot repeatedly go into cul-de-sacs and turn around.
Secondly, with only one entrance/exit, the street essentially becomes a one-way street. That is unacceptable for emergency services.
Engineer Brian Ball said that Schlabach Builders’ Phase 3 of Gilchrist Estates must connect on its western end with Ohio 768 and then to U.S. 36. That would occur via a connector road through Williams’ development.
Wallace said the developer anticipates pursuing a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) district or NCA (New Community Authority) to help fund infrastructure improvements in the development.
Ball said the city will not grant any variances on the development’s private stormwater plan. Williams must meet city and Ohio EPA retention and detention requirements.
In response to queries about plans for maintaining the stormwater plan, Wallace said the site engineer is better qualified to speak to the topic.
What kind of housing will it be?
The parcel will remain R-1 zoning. Density and proposed lot sizes comply with R-1.
Wallace said houses would be owner-occupied starter homes around 1,500 to 2,000 square feet in the price range of $300,000 to $400,000.
Williams said he does not intend to pursue HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) housing.
The homes will be stick-built, but there is no particular design in mind at this point. Wallace said the development team has communicated with a few local builders, and the housing quality will match the surrounding neighborhoods.
“We have every intent in partnering with a local builder to build quality homes that will, I believe, enhance the quality of the neighborhood and do nothing to detract from the quality of the neighborhood and surrounding home values,” Wallace said.
The commission said Williams must comply with screening requirements between neighbors. That includes complying with the Shade Tree and Beautification Commission’s requirements regarding tree removal and replanting.
Can the city handle the development?
Regarding a traffic impact study on the east side of the city for this and other developments, Wallace was unsure if the development team had conducted a study.
Ball said Williams’ group might have done traffic counts.
He noted that Carpenter Marty did a pass-through study in 2018, and the Ohio Department of Transportation regularly does studies of Ohio 768 (Vernonview Drive) that the city could access.
Salyers said the city’s police and fire services, as well as water and sewer, can handle increased demand.
As for who pays for necessary utility upgrades, he said TIFs and NCAs put the burden on the new development, not existing residents.
The development includes parks, trails, green space, tree-lined streets and public sidewalks.
According to Wallace, the development would likely follow national averages of 1.5 to 2 school-age children per household.
Wallace said he could not comment on lessons learned from Williams’ Crestline project as he was not involved.
Is there still an urgency to build with Intel’s recent slide?
Salyers said that current development, including Rockford Homes, is booking residents before the units are completed.
“So this has nothing to do with Intel,” he said.
Wallace, who is also a Madison County commissioner, echoed that sentiment, saying Central Ohio is still behind on housing starts.
“We’re building lots of homes, particularly in Plain City where I live, and we’re seeing those homes build up almost instantaneously, so there’s still a great tremendous demand for housing in central Ohio,” he said.
“We’re still behind some of our Midwest neighbors like Indianapolis and others in catching up. So yeah, I think the demand for housing in central Ohio is going to be there, with or without Intel.”
