Planning commission recommends approval of Hunters Path extension preliminary plan amid drainage, tree-line concerns

The Clayton Planning Commission at its March 2025 meeting recommended that City Council approve a preliminary subdivision plan (case PC25-01) to extend the Hunters Path subdivision with 97 single-family homes on a 37.098-acre parcel owned by Lagos Properties Inc. and proposed by DDC Management LLC.

The proposal would keep the site’s RSD (residential single-unit district) zoning and, as presented to the commission, would provide about 11.06 acres (29.4 percent) of open space, two access points (an entrance on Westbrook Road and an extension of Falls Road), sidewalks, streetlighting and stormwater basins. Staff recommended the Planning Commission forward a recommendation of approval to City Council provided all city planning and engineering comments are addressed; the commission added a requirement that existing dead trees along the north and east property lines be cleared and replaced with new plantings.

The commission’s recommendation matters because the Planning Commission’s action sends the application to City Council for a final decision; the applicant cannot proceed to final development plans and construction until Council approves subsequent plats and required technical studies, including a traffic impact study.

The proposal and next steps

Zoning staff told commissioners the preliminary application (received Feb. 28, 2025) does not request a zoning change. The applicant, Ross Benfelt of DDC Management LLC, said Arbor Homes — the builder on the adjacent Hunters Path phases — would likely be the construction partner for the extension. Staff outlined that the plan calls for 97 single-family lots at approximately 2.61 units per acre, two stormwater basins, new streets, sidewalks, lighting and a multi-use path along Westbrook Road, and that final development plan submittals must include a traffic study and detailed engineering for utilities, grading, stormwater,…