MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon Municipal Planning Commission approved a plan that developers say is a strategic solution to meeting housing needs in the county.
Scott Mallory and Gary Smith of Highland Real Estate (HRE) presented a revised comprehensive development plan to the commission on Thursday. They also addressed concerns that the site, known as Liberty Crossing, might contain archeological resources that should be preserved.
Smith said HRE commissioned an archeological study in addition to a streams, environmental, and wetlands review. The literature review by Weller & Associates showed no archeological or architectural cultural resources within the project area.
The review did show 37 archeological resources within the study area. Most were located to the west/immediate west of Liberty Crossing.
The report noted the development site has not been the subject of any professional/cultural resource management surveys.
“If the project was to move forward and we got into anything from a construction standpoint, we would have to halt construction and comply with any laws,” Smith said. “But all indications currently are there are no resources on the site that we need to be concerned about.”
The plan
Site changes from HRE’s initial plans include more preliminary grading, widening the patio homes, and reducing the overall density of the development by 42 units. The development has four sub-areas:
•Sub-area A: single-family homes, owner occupied, $350,000-$375,000, lots are 55 feet wide and 130 feet deep
•Sub-area B: individual patio homes, owner occupied
•Sub-area C: town homes, owner occupied
•Sub-area D: multi-family, rentals, one- and two-bedroom, possibly a few three-bedroom units, rents at full market rate ($900 to $1,800 monthly, average $1,200)
Each of the sub-areas will have open space to create their own amenities. For example, the single-family neighborhood might have a playground; the multi-family area might have a pool.
The development features 477 units, or 4.6 units per acre. Fifty-four acres (52%) are open space; Smith said typical developments have 20% to 25% open space.
HRE can provide that much open space due to clustering the housing units.
“We’re able to provide more preservation of the stream corridor and wetlands and use those as an amenity rather than going forward with a wetland mitigation plan and developing the whole thing. We see that more as an amenity to be preserved and create kind of a unique area for the community rather than just expand the rest of the development into,” Smith said.
Multiple products will be built simultaneously. Smith said that with the single-family and patio homes, the builder will probably erect a couple of models, sell them, and continue building as the builder get sales.
For town homes, the builder typically gets advance sales. When two units have commitments, the builder will build a building. The multi-family builders generally build one building at a time.
Realtors John Yoder and Dave Culbertson support the development.
Presenting data from Knox and Columbus MLS listings, Yoder said Knox County is below the healthy market supply.
“Just from the real estate brokerage and what we’re seeing on our side, it’s a very constrained supply,” he said. “I love the unit mix because that lower end, maybe $250,000 to $300,000 for the town homes, is a really unique proposition that we don’t have in the county.”
Culbertson noted that Mount Vernon’s zip code was the 37th hottest in the country according to the August 2022 realtor.com report, due in part to people working from home due to COVID-19, fleeing the big cities, and projected growth from Intel.
“We’re not talking about a low-income housing development,” he said. “These are going to be people who are going to support our community tax-wise. I would assume they’re going to be $100,000-plus annually a year in income, and I think that will help support our community.”
Both agreed that the proposed lot size for single-family homes is working in the market and will work in Mount Vernon.
Walt Sperry, Rangeline Road, is concerned about traffic, noting that the intersection of Rangeline Road and Newark Road is on a crest and is a very dangerous intersection.
Additionally, his Newark Road property abuts Liberty Crossing’s proposed park area, but there is no fence between the properties. He said there are critical times when you should not be in the field, such as after spraying or planting. While he did not think it was a serious issue, he wants to discuss it with HRE.
Regarding the archeological study, he said he has collected 6,000 to 7,000 pieces over 50 years; most are utilitarian pieces.
“There wasn’t anything on that archeological study that involved me,” he said.
He requested permission from HRE to surface hunt when excavation starts, noting that he has previously surface hunted the Liberty Crossing fields.
“I and my wife found some nice artifacts,” he said. “So they’re there, but they’re not there in that quantity, and I really doubt if there are any features there like a mound or workshop area. [That area] wasn’t utilized as extensively as our farm.”
Traffic was also a concern of East Sugar Street resident and City Councilman Mike Hillier and Newark Road resident Marty Huehner.
“Anything that will slow down traffic on Newark Road I’ll welcome,” Huner said.
He also suggested HRE work with the city to add sidewalks and a pedestrian bridge over Delano Run to connect the development to Blackjack Road, Park National Bank and Lanning’s Foods.
HRE completed a traffic study and submitted it to the city’s engineer for review. Smith said it essentially shows that HRE needs to make improvements to Newark Road, including turn lanes into the development. HRE will bear the cost of those improvements.
City Engineer Brian Ball said the city will ask for a speed study. However, he does not expect the Ohio Department of Transportation to make any speed limit adjustments based on housing density.
“I do think adding this number of homes to the area would give us more justification to make a request of ODOT for a bike trail,” he said.
Meadowbrook Drive resident Mike Leibold questioned whether there were plans to connect to Winney Drive, located north of the development site. Ball said Winney Drive was a township road and not under the city’s jurisdiction.
Additionally, private property sits between Liberty Crossing and Winney Road; those owners would first have to sell.
Noting he was “kind of neutral,” Mount Vernon resident Don Carr questioned who has jurisdiction when zoning conflicts arise, the city or Liberty Crossing. He also asked about homeowner associations.
HRE’s Smith said HOA information was not required as part of submitting the development plan. The development will have an HOA that controls the entire development, including entrance/exits, the walking path, and other areas.
Each area will also have a sub-association specific to that neighborhood.
Smith and City Safety-service Director Richard Dzik agreed that the city sets minimum requirements, but HRE’s requirements can be stricter.
Tim Burton of Brookwood Road does not disagree with the housing need, but said, “I question the numbers, and I question this project.”
“We’re looking at 477 units, just over 1,000 people in one square mile area. The density alone, that is pretty substantial,” he said.
He noted city code states five units per acre; the development plan calls for 4.67 units per acre, but the units are going in on half of the total acreage.
“If we do 477 units over 50 acres, are we really complying with the five-units-per acre code?” Burton asked.
He also pointed out that the average of 1.88 cars per household puts the development with about 900 cars pulling onto Newark Road. Referencing the anticipated 3,000 Intel employees, Burton said, “you have to think a huge majority of those 3,000 will be absorbed by Columbus and Sunbury, New Albany, and Newark.”
“To say we need to build this much housing to prepare for Intel, in my opinion, that’s a bit of a stretch,” he said.
Robert Everett, who owns property across the road from the development site, wrote a letter opposing the development. He noted archeological finds, environmental issues, and disruption of bald eagle habitat as concerns.
Jeff Gottke, president of the Area Development Foundation, wrote a letter supporting the development and the need for housing.
Colonial Woods Condominiums
The planning commission postponed a decision on a zoning permit for Stoneworks LLC, the developer for Colonial Woods Condominiums on Upper Gilchrist Road. Stoneworks requested a permit to build a four-unit condominium on Abigail Lane South. The commission requested more information before making a decision at its March 9 meeting.
