Watertown Planning Commission approves Harmony Hill PUD plat, private street maintenance agreement

The Watertown Planning Commission on Feb. 20 approved Resolution 25-02 to plat the Harmony Hill planned unit development and accept a private street maintenance agreement that clears the way for an interior renovation tied to a building permit.

Planning staff member Brandy told commissioners the plat was largely procedural but required because the parcel does not yet abut a public right of way and because a private street maintenance agreement is needed for the internal driveway and street system. "So this is the plat for Harmony Hill PUD first edition. This really this plat could have been done administratively. Other than that, we have a private street maintenance agreement attached to it because of having to plat the private street," Brandy said.

Brandy said the renovation prompting the plat is an interior conversion of a former assisted-living building to a daycare facility affiliated with Little Village and Little Blessings at the Village at Harmony Hill. She described Challenger Way as the primary means of ingress and egress for the property and said the stretch referred to as 20 Eighth has been platted as a city street and "was meeting the city street standards." Commissioners asked whether 20 Eighth would be improved because of an anticipated increase in traffic; Brandy replied that Challenger Way was expected to remain the primary egress and that 20 Eighth had been accepted as meeting city standards.

Because the item before the commission was a plat and not a zoning change, no public hearing was required. The commission asked whether the project proponent was present; staff indicated no one from the applicant team was online. Commissioner Dolly moved to approve Resolution 25-02; Commissioner Oletsky seconded. "I can do this by voice vote," Chair Liam said, and the commission approved the resolution by voice vote. Commissioners present recorded their approval with aye votes and the chair stated the motion passes.

The approval covers the plat and the attached private street maintenance agreement; no budgetary allocations, timelines, or additional conditions were specified in the discussion. The commission did not request further studies or defer the item for additional information. The meeting then moved on to other business and adjourned.

Votes at a glance: Resolution 25-02 (Harmony Hill PUD plat, private street maintenance agreement) — Motion to approve passed by voice vote; mover: Commissioner Dolly; second: Commissioner Oletsky; proponent not present; no roll-call tally recorded.