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County staff brief commissioners on paired urban service-area expansion and future land-use change at 4950 Sappho/Southwood Road
Summary
Planning staff presented two linked privately initiated amendments: one to expand the urban service area by approximately 10.01 acres and an associated change of future land use from Agricultural (AR 1-5) to Residential 4; the workshop was informational and no action was taken.
Lillian Lenahan and Alexis Myers, planning commission staff, presented two linked privately initiated plan amendments for parcels near 4950 Sappho Road/4950 Southwood Road that would add about 10.01 acres to the urban service area and change the future land-use designation from Agricultural Rule 1-5 to Residential 4.
Lenahan said expanding the urban service area would require, at a minimum, a connection to public water and sewer for the parcels brought into the urban service area. Myers explained the current designation (AR 1-5) allows one dwelling unit per five gross acres and a maximum floor-area ratio (FAR) of 0.25; Residential 4 would allow higher residential density, increasing the site’s development potential from an illustrative yield of up to 2 dwelling units under AR 1-5 to up to 40 dwelling units under Res 4.
Staff noted the site is in the rural area within the South Shore Area-wide Systems Community Plan and the Waimama Village Plan, is north of Stafford Road and west of County Road 579, and may contain significant wildlife habitat and lie in FEMA Flood Zone X. Lenahan also said the parcels are controlled by a single property owner and are within an Urban Expansion Area (UEA) study directed by the Board of County Commissioners.
Commissioners asked why those parcels were not included previously in a public urban expansion; staff replied parcels included earlier had a future land-use of WVR 2 and the subject parcels did not, which is why they were not included in that earlier public initiative.
The item was presented for workshop discussion; no formal action or vote took place. Staff indicated standard rezoning and development-review processes (including connection to public utilities) would apply if the amendments proceed through the public hearing and adoption steps.
