Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission approves Western Meadows Phase 1 site-condominium plan
Summary
Coldwater Planning Commission approved final site plan SPR 2502 for Western Meadows Phase 1, a 10-lot site-condominium on 14.67 acres off Western Avenue, after staff said infrastructure is in place and members raised questions about lot sizes, easements and future phases.
The Coldwater Planning Commission on a voice vote approved the final site plan (SPR 2502) for Western Meadows Subdivision Phase 1, a 10-lot site-condominium proposed on a 14.67-acre vacant parcel off Western Avenue.
Planning staff presented the proposal and recommended approval. “This is a 10 lot subdivision,” planning staff said, and noted the city has already constructed the roads and utilities and that the site-condominium ownership structure is being used to facilitate sale of the lots. City Manager Keith Baker told commissioners the city council has authorized two builders to purchase lots in the development.
The proposal calls for single-family homes in an A1 zoning district and, staff said, meets the district's minimum lot and frontage standards. Staff said homes are proposed in the $350,000–$400,000 price range and that the Phase 1 layout is the first of a planned three phases. Staff also described a large ravine running through the property that creates common open space and explained the decision not to connect the two future street segments because filling the ravine to create a through street would be costly.
Commissioners questioned the size and configuration of several lots near utility easements and a major gas main. One commissioner noted Lot 3’s restricted buildable area because of a gas-main easement and asked whether lots 3 and 4 might be combined; staff said adjustments like combining lots could be made as builders finalize plans. Commissioners also asked about street lighting, which staff said the local utility is installing as underground service with street-light poles ultimately in place.
Staff identified other site features including a storm sewer easement along the north property line, a Michigan gas utilities easement off Western Avenue and an access easement to an adjacent privately owned parcel. Staff said survey work is being completed by the project surveyor and engineering by Fishbeck Engineering.
Several commissioners raised concerns that the proposed lots were smaller and denser than surrounding neighborhoods; staff acknowledged that the builder had proposed a somewhat smaller product to help generate tax increment revenues and speed infrastructure cost recovery under the project's brownfield/tax-increment approach. Staff said minimum dwelling size and neighborhood standards would be enforced through the master deed and that the master deed will include minimum driveway and garage-size requirements (minimum two-car garage, 24-by-24 feet) and minimum finished-living area requirements.
After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the final site plan SPR 2502 for Western Meadows Phase 1; the commission voted in favor by voice and the motion carried.
Less-critical details discussed during the meeting included potential lot combinations during builder selection, the project’s hoped-for three-phase buildout, and that infrastructure costs are expected to be reimbursed over time through tax increment revenue from new homes.
