MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday approved the preliminary plat for the Arista Villas subdivision on Vernonview Drive.
Joshua Williams of Arista Villas proposes 100 single-family, owner-occupied units.
“Our goal is to create an affordable entry-level housing development here in the city of Mount Vernon,” Clint Huhra of KNG Equity said. “Our target price of the proposed homes is going to try to be in the $350,000 range.”
The houses will have three to four bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and between 1,200 and 1,600 square feet.
Floor plans offer architectural features such as stone elevations, board-and-batten siding, and various color schemes, as well as separate landscaping packages.
A homeowners’ association will oversee the common areas. The HOA includes an architectural review committee to ensure future improvements preserve the neighborhood’s aesthetics.
Huhra said that the city will maintain the stormwater ponds.
Initial sketches showed one entrance/exit for the subdivision. Huhra said the preliminary plat aligns with the city’s proposed future street planning to eventually connect south and east of the project.
The city requested that Williams connect immediately to the existing Woodside Drive.
KNG also complied with the request to connect the water main to an existing main on the south side of the property, using an existing utility easement on the west end of Upland Terrace.
Huhra said the delinquent taxes were paid on Thursday.
“We updated the address. I don’t know what that address was that somehow got onto the file, but it was not being sent to us. As soon as we found it, we took care of it,” he said.
Urban forestry plan
Williams hired a local certified arborist to conduct a field survey for an urban forestry plan.
The arborist documented all standing trees at 30-foot intervals. Dead trees were included.
“Based on the sample data, it was estimated that the wooded area contains probably about 2,700 trees,” Huhra said. “The analysis determined that about 40% were in fair, poor, or dead condition.”
The arborist determined that the existing forestry had been logged multiple times. The logging created a poor understory with invasive species and shrubs that contribute to a declining forest.
The development team created a tree plan that complies with the Shade Tree and Beautification Commission’s goal of creating a native, healthy forest with 40% canopy coverage at maturity.
The shade tree commission signed off on the plan, which includes removing 2,550 trees, planting 646, and preserving 135.
Are three access points required?
Sugar Street resident Mike Hillier referenced previous statements by commission members that, according to the city’s master transportation plan, roads in Arista Villas “must” connect south to Coshocton Avenue and east-west from Vernonview to Upper Gilchrist Road.
The preliminary plat shows “proposed” through streets.
“When do we approve a plan that says proposed?” Hillier asked.
City Engineer Brian Ball said, “It is a master plan for the area that as things happen, these connections will need to be made.”
Law Director Rob Broeren said the overall plan for the R-1 in the neighborhoods is that “they must connect together when they’re able to do that.”
“We wouldn’t allow them to do this with a single entrance or exit, which is what they originally [proposed],” he said. “Our current master plan for transportation required at least the two here with the opportunity that whenever other developments occur that they connect to it so that we don’t have a series of cul-de-sacs here.”
Development Services Manager Lacie Blankenhorn read part of Mount Vernon City Code Section 1101.01, which states the purpose of the zoning code.
Letter I states, “encourage interconnectivity of developments in order to provide multiple access points in and out of developments for safety purposes and traffic dispersion.”
“So it’s encouraging it, not requiring it,” Blankenhorn said.
Stormwater, density, and traffic
Teryl Drive resident Don Carr questioned who will own the streets in the development and said the city should require Williams to improve the existing Woodside Drive if he wants to use it as a second access to the development.
Other concerns include stormwater collection, when or if Phase 2 will happen, clear ownership of the lots, and whether the developer will ask to amend the plan to include high-density townhouses or apartments in Phase 2.
He encouraged the city to require a surety bond from the developer to ensure he completes the project.
Carr also noted that Arista Way appears to be directly across from The Fairways entrance, which adds 200 additional cars trying to access Vernonview Drive.
Bob Beck, Woodside Drive, reiterated the understanding that the city requires three entrances.
He questioned whether the developer would include the road south to Coshocton Avenue in Phase 2 to eliminate a dead end.
He also noted that the plan could change once detailed analysis of the stormwater ponds begins.
“Everything could very well change as far as the number of houses, where the houses are going to go. We could end up changing the whole road over again,” he said.
“I don’t know how you ever qualify how much water runoff is going to be there when there’s no more trees and such.”
He asked whether Williams would clear-cut the whole site initially, noting that this could lead to potential flooding.
Blankenhorn read a letter from Jennifer Shoman opposing the development in its current form.
She cited inadequate access, reliance on potential or unspecified future roadways, developer-funded roadways, and the protection of existing homeowners from potential stormwater, deforestation, and construction-related damages as concerns.
Commission approves preliminary plat by 4 to 1 vote
The commission voted 4 to 1 to approve the preliminary plat. Commission member Jason West voted no.
Ball said it is important to note that the plan is preliminary, not final.
“So in that process, if we realize the stormwater pond is not the correct size, they have the ability to potentially eliminate a lot or make some minor adjustments to allow for changes,” he said.
KNG’s next step is to prepare full construction plans. Plans include sediment and erosion control, stormwater management, and utilities.
“That is where their work really begins, and then we will follow the rules of the state, federal, and local,” Ball said.
“We will grade their future work products based on our code and the state and federal code.”
Liberty Crossing subdivision amendments
The city will maintain the private stormwater system for the Liberty Crossing development on Newark Road.
Under the agreement, the city will charge property owners in the development an additional stormwater fee for current maintenance and future rehabilitation.
“There will be a periodic check to make sure we have enough funds or, if we have too much funds, we would reduce the rate,” Ball said.
Commission members set a flat monthly rate of $13.15.
The planning commission unanimously approved EMH&T’s request to modify the subdivision’s final development plan.
Josh Cummings, senior project manager with EMH&T engineering, noted that when the commission approved the final development plat, the subdivision did not have apartment developer Inch and Co. on board.
After the company came on board, it made changes. Changes include:
•Increasing units from 230 to 240
•Increasing parking from 360 spaces to 420
•Eliminating an apartment building
•Changing building size due to unit types for efficiencies
•Shifting the clubhouse to a more centralized location
•Increasing parking lot trees to align with the changes
•Shifting the entrance to accommodate the clubhouse relocation
“All fall within the amended final development code. There’s really nothing that is needing an extra variance or divergence within the code,” Cummings said.
Commission members also approved reducing the town home count from 108 to 77 units to provide flexibility in unit styles.
‘Riding into the sunset’
Thursday’s meeting was the final one for commission member Austin Swallow.
Swallow has voluntarily served on the commission for close to 24 years.
Mayor Starr said Swallow is “someone who has taken time out of his busy life while he’s raising a family, working a job, and serving the community in so many ways to sit up here and wrestle with these questions that we all have to deal with.”
Swallow said the meeting is a perfect example of why he has enjoyed serving on the commission for so many years.
“There’s give and take, there’s discussion. I wish that some of the folks had stayed, because you see the process a little bit more when you come to the second and third and fourth and fifth items on the agenda,” he said.
“You realize that there is a process. The Vernonview process is at one end and Liberty Crossing is at the other end. There are lots of opportunities for discussion, change, and adjustment as we go along.”
“It really has been my privilege, and I thank you, thank Mayor Mavis and everyone else that has been involved in this commission,” he said. “It’s public democracy at its best.”