Planning commission approves County Downs Plat 23 after resident objections about access and traffic

The Montgomery Planning Commission on a vote of 5-2 approved County Downs Plat Number 23, a residential phase that the applicant said will create 46 lots and close future connections to the Bellehurst neighborhood with two cul-de-sacs. The approval matters because neighbors told the commission they had not been consulted and said the additional homes would increase traffic on narrow neighborhood roads and posed questions about access for properties that currently rely on a private easement. Chris Bostic of Peel Green and Bostick Engineering, the applicant’s civil engineer, told the commission the developer negotiated an agreement with Councilman Ed Grimes that the submitted plat would include “double cul de sacs to close off future access through Bellehurst.” Bostic also said he had cleared the plan with Warren Adams in city staff and with Wesley Cox in traffic engineering, and that traffic staff said they were “good with this” if this is the final development in that area. Several nearby residents told the commission they had not seen traffic studies and worried about safety on Larkin Lane. Pete Preston, who lives at 710 Larkin Court, said, “I have not seen any kind of traffic studies or the the impact that these additional 46 units will have on Larkin Lane,” and outlined a series of steep turns and narrow lanes that he said already carry traffic from about 56 houses. Shirley Williams told the commission her house is accessed from a private stretch of Bienville Road that she said is protected by an easement. “This is our only way to our house, back and forth,” she said, and asked what would happen to the existing private road. Bostic said the developer was working with the city attorney and the engineering department to reroute access so residents, the water utility and other properties would retain guaranteed access; he said the project could not proceed until vacation and rerouting of the easement was completed. Bostic added that construction traffic would use County Downs Road and the existing developer access, not Larkin Lane; he said traffic conditions and civil plans could prompt staff to require a traffic study or other changes when engineering plans are submitted. Motion and vote: A motion to approve the plat passed 5-2. The commission discussion and the developer’s assurances to work with the city attorney about easements were part of the record; the applicant agreed that the plat as submitted would prevent any additional street connections to Bellehurst. The commission’s approval closes the public hearing portion of the item. Several residents asked the applicant and staff to follow up by phone and in writing; staff and the applicant said they would provide contact information and continue negotiations with the city attorney’s office.