McBride Homes seeks rezoning for River Bluffs; proposes 136-lot subdivision and 17 acres for parkland

McBride Homes representative Max Ladd told the Florissant City Council on Feb. 10 that his company is seeking rezoning of 2700 Milamfi Lane from NU (non-urban) to PDR (planned development residential) and preliminary development-plan approval for the River Bluffs subdivision.

The proposal covers roughly 47.18 acres, of which Ladd said about 16.97 acres would be conveyed to the city “for future park ground” and the remaining roughly 30 acres retained for development. “In total, there’s 136 lots,” Ladd said, giving a breakdown of 56 Heritage-series homes, 57 Bayside homes and 23 Oakwood homes.

Why it matters: The plan would add new housing stock and dedicate land for park use and trail connectivity in a primarily single-family neighborhood; council members focused on public access to the proposed parkland, trail connections and how density was being calculated.

According to Ladd, the project includes new streets, sidewalks and a 10-foot-wide multiuse trail that the developer has coordinated with the city. He said the PDR zoning provides layout flexibility that “allows to cluster those homes and maximize that park ground dedication.” Ladd also described preserving roughly 53% of woodlands in the park-ground area and 3.5 acres of common ground for buffers and a storm basin.

Council questions centered on how the trail would connect to adjacent properties and whether access to the dedicated parkland would be public. Councilman Mark Egan asked whether the trail and the strip of land “would be access for the general public or just for the people living at [the] subdivision?” Ladd replied that the strip “would also be dedicated as the park ground, so they would have access out to the public roadway,” and later clarified, “No. It would be public. So it would be accessed for anybody.”

The developer noted density comparisons: Ladd said PDR allows up to six units per acre and that surrounding R-3 and R-4 districts permit different densities; he added that the plan being shown reflects about 3.3 units per acre based on the 47 acres but that the existing development agreement permits using the original, larger acreage, which he said would produce a 1.8 figure. The transcript does not record a council vote on the rezoning—bill 10036 was read as part of the meeting’s first-reading items but no final vote appears on the record.

What happens next: The council closed the public hearing after questions and comments. The item remains on the agenda as ordinance/bill 10036 (first reading listed). Additional hearings or readings will be required before any rezoning ordinance can be adopted.

Speakers quoted above are drawn from the meeting record: Max Ladd (McBride Homes) and Councilman Mark Egan. Other council members who asked questions during the hearing include Councilman Manganielli, Councilman Caputo, Councilman Harris and Councilman O’Donnell.

Ending: The council did not take a final vote on rezoning at the Feb. 10 meeting; the proposal and the development agreement referenced by the developer will return for official action at a later council meeting.