The council opened a public hearing on a zoning amendment request for the Aberdeen subdivision seeking to modify a condition that currently prevents final plat approval until required road improvements are completed. The applicant asked that the city allow issuance of up to 30 residential building permits before the final plat is recorded.

City planner Hugh Blackstock told the council the proposed change would permit "up to 30 model homes or have 30 residential building permits issued prior to the final plat approval" and that planning staff and the planning-and-zoning commission recommended approval. Blackstock said the number 30 corresponds to the number of water and sewer tap fees paid at the time of the preliminary plat application.

Clint Walters, representing the Providence Group, said the road work is complete, inspections have passed and the developer expected to submit the final plat within "a couple weeks." Walters confirmed the first phase (Pod A) is next to the school between East Jefferson and West Jackson and that the lots in the first submittal are single-family lots; he said the community as built will be single-family and that earlier plans that included townhomes were changed during zoning but the technical condition still allowed townhomes.

Council allowed public questions during the hearing; questions focused on the location of the initial 30 permits, whether the lots are single-family, and the size of the first pod (Walters said Pod A contains about 89 homes). The public hearing will close and the council will consider the item at its next voting meeting, per the mayor's opening remarks.