The Oldham County Technical Review Committee on Oct. 15 reviewed TRC25-018, a proposed 64-lot subdivision called Camden Ridge at 2800 South Camden Lane, but took no official vote and made no decisions. County staff, the applicant and more than a dozen nearby residents spent the meeting discussing required permits, drainage and stormwater controls, road safety and connectivity, potential impacts to a nearby dam and lake, and school-capacity estimates.

Why it matters: The proposal would reconnect multiple existing subdivisions (Lake Pointe, Kentucky Acres, Lincoln Trail and others) and, residents say, could turn narrow local roads into through routes without full reconstruction. County engineers and other agencies flagged permits and binding elements that must be resolved before the project goes to the Planning Commission.

Cliff Ashburner, attorney for the applicant, summarized the plan and its history. “This plan looks very familiar because it is essentially the same plan as what we are proposing today,” he said, noting an earlier planning commission approval in February 2007 that was upheld in court. Ashburner and designers from Land Design and Development said most lot standards meet current zoning (AG-1 and CO-1) but that the developer may request variances for some cul-de-sac frontage dimensions.

County engineering staff urged the applicant to obtain state and county permits and to document how stormwater will be handled. Derek Shade of Oldham County Engineering said, “Land disturbing area is gonna be over 1 acre for this project. As such, the applicant shall obtain a KYR-10 permit from the Kentucky Division of Water and an Oldham County stormwater quality management and erosion control permit.” He also noted county requirements for water-quality treatment, detention basins or substantiating calculations if the developer proposes to use capacity in the existing Lake Pointe basin, and long-term maintenance easements.

Shade also recommended the TRC include a binding element carried forward from the 2007 approval: a conservation easement or recorded no-disturb area along Asher's Run, and a prohibition on state-permitted direct-discharge sewage systems into the stream. The engineering office said it will request updated language so those elements remain part of any approval.

Residents repeatedly asked who will pay for road repairs and safety upgrades if connections are opened. Multiple speakers described South Camden Lane as narrow, with blind curves and sections they measured as 16–17 feet of pavement. Mike Arth, who identified himself as a battalion chief for Anchorage Middletown Fire Department, said the road “is far below the 20-foot minimum pavement width” used for collector or emergency access and urged a comprehensive traffic study that accounts for nearby routes and recent development. Several residents, including Rhett Hill and Kevin Cook, asked whether construction traffic could be restricted to specified routes and who would repair damage to the roadway or to the Willow Bend spillway and dam if heavier loads increase wear.

On dam safety and local crossings, residents asked whether the Kentucky Energy and Environmental Cabinet’s Dam Safety and Floodplain Compliance section (Division of Water) would be notified and whether the county had assessed the capacity of the Willow Bend culvert and the Reynolds Meadows dam and spillway for heavier traffic. Laura Volk read a list of detailed questions into the minutes asking whether state dam-safety authorities would be contacted before any connection to Willow Bend is allowed; county staff said the county engineer has been in contact with the Division of Water and KYTC about bridge and culvert responsibilities and weight limits but that some questions remain under discussion.

Oldham County Schools’ Michael Williams provided a preliminary estimate of student impact. Using the county’s capacity method, the school system calculated roughly eight additional students from the full buildout and said current campus capacity levels would allow 35 new units per year under the county formula; Williams called the figure preliminary and said the school district’s allocation method is reviewed annually.

Oldham County Water said it can serve the subdivision and that water main work will be required; South Oldham Fire said it had no project comments at this stage but questioned the South Camden access given current roadway conditions.

County staff outlined next steps: the applicant’s traffic engineer is preparing a traffic impact study (reported to the committee as likely available in mid-November), the applicant must supply stormwater permitting and detailed construction plans, and any instrumentation or recorded easements tied to the Lake Pointe basin must be provided. The TRC advised the applicant to consolidate plan pages, label right-of-way information clearly (including “South Camden Lane”), provide tree descriptions, correct contour intervals, and state variances sought for each lot in the waiver/variance request.

The TRC does not make final decisions; if the applicant pursues Planning Commission review the county expects to place the item on a Planning Commission agenda at the earliest available hearing once required materials (traffic study, revised plans, permits) are submitted. County staff said it expects to coordinate with the developer on updating the prior $1,500-per-lot binding element to reflect current construction costs and inflation.

No motions or votes were taken at the TRC hearing. The applicant and county staff will return materials and responses to the committee and then, if complete, proceed to Planning Commission review.