At its Sept. 15 meeting, the Topeka City Planning Commission approved the preliminary and final subdivision plat for Ardmore Walk and recommended annexation of the 25.28-acre tract to the City of Topeka to permit connection to municipal utilities. Annie, planning staff, told commissioners the plat would subdivide the site into 42 lots, public roads and stormwater detention areas to be constructed in three phases and that the property owner has consented to annexation.

The commission’s action follows staff recommendations and discussions about floodway impacts, stormwater detention and a requested clarifying edit to staff’s written findings on conformance with the comprehensive plan. “Staff is recommending approval,” Annie said during the presentation. Commissioners moved and approved the plat with the condition stated in the staff report and with the one textual edit requested by a commissioner.

The plat site is located on the north side of Southwest 405th Street about 1,000 feet west of Burlingame, lying between Lakeside Drive and Burlingame Road and contiguous to the city’s corporate limits. Annie said the applicant’s civil engineer has submitted a stormwater management plan that is under review by the City of Topeka Department of Utilities and that the plat dedicates four unbuildable tracts as stormwater detention easements to meet city stormwater quality and quantity standards. She added infrastructure improvements including sanitary sewer and water are planned and will be financed by the developer.

Commissioners questioned staff and the applicant about floodway limits and neighborhood concerns about runoff. The applicant’s representative described on-site detention that would limit post-development flows to pre-development flows and said the detention basin would discharge to an existing channel. Commissioner Brooks raised a neighbor’s written comments about bank erosion upstream and whether the subdivision would increase flows onto adjacent property; the applicant said the on-site detention would prevent increased flows from the development and that much of the larger drainage area lies upstream of the site.

Commissioner Powell asked staff to add an explicit sentence to the conformance paragraph stating that development with the planned infrastructure would put the property into conformance with the comprehensive plan; staff agreed to the wording and the commission’s motion approving the plat referenced that edit. A commissioner also noted the neighborhood meeting notes were generated with AI and asked that the record reflect staff’s review of those notes.

After discussion the commission voted to approve the plat and then separately approved the related annexation request. The commission’s recommendation on annexation now goes to the governing body, which — staff noted — would consider annexation under state law by ordinance.