Council approves R-3 rezoning and Prairie Sunset preliminary plat after neighbors raise drainage, sewer concerns

The Brookings City Council on Jan. 27 approved rezoning for 1115 West Twentieth Street South from an agricultural district to a Residence R-3 apartment district and adopted the Prairie Sunset preliminary plat, a 30.46-acre large-scale residential development plan that shows 41 twin-home lots and 17 single-family lots.

The rezoning and preliminary plat drew public comment from nearby residents and extended discussion among city staff and the developer about drainage, sanitary sewer capacity and long-term oversight. Resident Kristen Olk, who said she lives at 1206 West Twentieth Street, urged the council to “reconsider” the R-3 designation and raised detailed concerns about the area’s classification in the city’s comprehensive plan and past flooding at her property. “When I called the water department and asked for a city or to have a water test kit, I was told, don't worry about it. It's probably no big deal,” she said, describing well contamination after a heavy rain event.

Developer Russell Atkins, representing the applicant, told the council the plan was the product of extensive engineering and that the proposed buildout would total about 99 dwelling units — roughly 3.25 units per acre in this proposal — and that the applicant had adjusted the design to address site-specific constraints. Atkins said the plan includes two large detention/drainage tracts and that the proposal provides more stormwater storage than required: “Where a lot of times preliminary plans come to you in that very state preliminary — these have gone through quite the review process,” he said.

City staff emphasized review safeguards. Mike Struck, Community Development Director, said the rezoning is consistent with the city’s future land-use designation for medium-density residential (4–12 units per acre) and that the large-scale residential development (LSRD) plan accompanying the rezoning binds the developer to the submitted layout. “If they were to try and revise the plan and consolidate some of those lots ... they would have to come back through a revised ... that would go back through the planning commission with their recommendation forwarded to the city council for final action,” Struck said.

Charlie Richter, City Engineer, and Eric (the city’s water and wastewater manager) addressed infrastructure questions. Richter said the submitted concept drainage met preliminary city requirements and that the developer’s design provides storage in excess of minimums. Eric said the West Side interceptor had previous issues in 2010–11 but has since seen “tens of millions of dollars of improvements,” including downstream replacement of more than 2 miles of sewer and added flow-equalization capacity, and told council the sewer “absolutely has the capacity for the development.” He added that final water and sewer approvals require additional plan/profile review before any connections are permitted.

Several council members noted the flexibility of the R-3 district — smaller lot and setback standards — but said that those flexibilities are counterbalanced by the LSRD requirement that any material change return to the planning commission and council. The planning commission recommended approval (unanimous) and the development review team also supported the requests.

The council approved the rezoning ordinance (Ordinance 25-003) and the Prairie Sunset preliminary plat/resolution (identified in the record as Resolution 25-008) on roll calls with all members voting in favor.

The developer and city staff said next steps include final engineering submittals for drainage, sewer and street design, final plat submittal with street names and the usual utility and subdivision approvals before any lot sales or building permits.