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EDA reviews DCM Farms preliminary plat; members question retail placement and traffic estimates
Summary
EDA members reviewed the DCM Farms preliminary plat and raised questions about a commercial retail outlot that would trigger an Environmental Assessment Worksheet; members said traffic estimates—especially trips attributed to a proposed gas station—appear high and discussed roundabout placement and lot sizes for proposed ‘villa’ townhomes.
Dayton’s Economic Development Authority discussed the DCM Farms preliminary plat on Feb. 18 and raised questions about the commercial retail portion that triggers an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW), the project's projected trip counts and a proposed roundabout tied to a road rerouting.
Staff summarized the proposal as a development of roughly 253 single‑family lots and about 10 acres of commercial retail; the retail portion and a comprehensive‑plan amendment would trigger an EAW. Staff said the overall project was estimated to generate roughly 11,000 vehicle trips per day and that about 70% of those trips were attributed to the commercial retail portion.
Several members said they could not reconcile the trip totals with the scale of the residential component and questioned assumptions used for the gas station, with one member calculating that the retail numbers implied "they're selling 43,000 gallons of gas a day," a rate that member said "doesn't sound like a normal gas station." A staff member clarified that the EAW counts trips as one vehicle in and one vehicle out (two trips) for the same customer visit, and members asked staff to produce comparative traffic numbers from similar facilities to present at the council EAW discussion.
Members also discussed the layout: the retail outlot sits near single‑family homes and would be entered from a road that is being realigned (the transcript notes a road will be rerouted from 113th to 114th and a roundabout is proposed). Members questioned whether the retail location—accessed via the roundabout and near homes—was appropriate and whether the proposed roundabout would impede driveway access for existing residents. Staff said the developer will fund the roundabout and that the retail area is intended to be redeveloped as tenants are identified; specific future uses (gas station, daycare, coffee shop, bank) would return to the EDA for review.
The EDA asked staff to gather more realistic traffic comparisons for the EAW and noted the planning commission recommended changes to lot widths and setbacks. Staff said the original preliminary plat included 103 40‑foot lots in an early submittal; after planning commission discussion that number was reduced to 33 40‑foot lots concentrated in the northeast area. Staff reported the revised preliminary plat will be on the city council agenda for discussion on Feb. 25 and the planning commission will make a recommendation in March.
No formal EDA vote was recorded on the preliminary plat; members provided comments and asked staff to present additional traffic data for the EAW and to track the council and planning commission schedule.
