Planning and Zoning Commission recommends Rolla City Council approve Highland Phase 1 final plat

The Rolla City Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council approve the final plat for Highland Phase 1, a 23-acre section of a 145-acre planned unit development that would create 87 residential lots and include a new collector road connecting to Highway 72.

Commission staff presented the final-plat materials and said the portion before the commission is substantially the same as the approved preliminary plat, with the developer reorienting lots to add one extra lot in one area. Staff said the phase includes two common lots for stormwater detention, recreational amenities and utility areas, and that improvement plans for water, sewer, streets and stormwater have been submitted, reviewed and approved. "It appears to comply with all the relevant zoning and subdivision requirements for the plat," staff said during the hearing.

The developer's representative, Christian Miller of McBride, told the commission the project team completed a traffic study that MoDOT reviewed and approved. Miller said MojDOT determined the two turn lanes — one at Osage Drive and one at the Heatherfield Drive connection to Highway 72 — "are not warranted until there's about 87 lots." He said the Heatherfield collector road will be built as part of phase 1 and that the turn lanes would be added before development moves into phase 2.

The discussion also covered two minor-subdivision lots on the northwest corner of the larger property that staff said are not part of this plat because they currently lack sewer service; those two lots will be recorded after sewer connections are installed. Staff said a temporary sales office and model homes will be located on one of the common lots off Osage Drive until the model-home area is constructed off the Heatherfield Drive cul-de-sac.

Commissioners asked about timing. Miller estimated phase 1 infrastructure would take about six months to build and said the homes would be built on a sales-driven schedule that could take roughly one to two years to complete the phase. Staff reiterated that each phase is designed to be self-sufficient as required by the PUD and the city's review of improvement plans.

After public comment from Miller and brief commissioner questions, a commissioner moved to recommend approval of the final plat to the City Council. A roll-call vote recorded affirmative votes from Commissioners Sherman, Jordan, Martin and Morris; the motion carried and the commission recommended the City Council approve the final plat.

The commission's vote is a recommendation; the City Council has held a public hearing on the proposal but, because of weather, has not yet voted on the final plat.