Lebanon City panel recommends amended Spring Creek PUD to allow detached small‑lot homes

The Lebanon City Plan Commission voted to forward amendments to the Spring Creek planned unit development ordinance to the Common Council with a favorable recommendation, including a change converting the previously planned duplex lots in “Area B” into detached single‑family lots and updated architectural standards.

The recommendation matters because the amendments alter the product type, maximum unit counts and design standards for the Spring Creek subdivision — a development bounded roughly by 300 North, County Road 300 North and State Road 39 — and will next require Common Council adoption to take effect.

City planner Ben (last name not specified) told the commission the Spring Creek PUD was reviewed in early 2023, adopted by the council, and that construction paused pending water allocation. He said the developer and builder have since identified a market preference change and are proposing to replace the duplex product planned in Area B with a 30‑foot wide detached single‑family product. “They basically just want to split them apart and do them on their own individual lots to make them detached homes as opposed to attached duplexes,” Ben said.

Ben said the amended PUD reproduces the full 2023 PUD text, updates references to Lebanon City’s new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), and adds architectural standards for the narrower Area B lots. The proposed architectural changes include replacing a single 16‑foot garage door with two 8‑foot single doors to reduce garage dominance, requiring at least 50% glass in the front door, masonry to the bottom of first‑floor windows, and two different siding materials on front elevations.

Developer Brian Gradison of Gradison Land Development said the change responds to the builder’s product performance in other markets and insisted the concept is “fairly straightforward.” He told the commission the development team intends the same overall layout for the commercial node, townhomes and larger‑lot Area A, and that the product width change is intended to better match market demand. Gradison also corrected the record on unit counts, saying the project plan shown two years ago already showed 118 units and that the project is not increasing above that number.

Commission discussion addressed open space and common areas, which Ben said remain generally in the same locations as the originally approved plan, with the primary common area near the south entrance off 300 North and several smaller amenity areas and pedestrian trail connections through the site. Commissioners asked about vehicle parking depth and the 20‑foot front yard setback; Ben clarified that the 20 feet is measured effectively from the back of sidewalk to the garage and that on‑street parking will be limited to one side of streets in the subdivision to preserve emergency access.

During the meeting the commission moved to amend section 6 of the draft PUD to align the numeric table with the latest concept plan: changing Area A from 170 to 173 units and Area B from 110 to 118 units (motion carried). Following that amendment the commission voted to forward the revised PUD ordinance — identified in the record as the Spring Creek PUD originally adopted by City Council ordinance 2023‑05 — to the Common Council with a positive recommendation. The staff presentation and developer materials show the maximum unit total for the development reflected in the concept plan as 118 units; the originally adopted PUD cited a maximum of 130 units.

The amended PUD will replace the previously adopted PUD text where adopted in 2023 and update cross‑references to Lebanon City’s new UDO for landscaping and other standards. The amendment now goes to the Common Council for ordinance consideration and final action.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to amend PUD sections 6.1 and 6.2 to adjust Area A from 170 to 173 units and Area B from 110 to 118 units — motion passed (mover: Scott; second: not specified).

- Motion to forward the amended Spring Creek PUD ordinance (originally Council ordinance 2023‑05) to the Common Council with a favorable recommendation — motion passed (mover: not specified; second: not specified).

What’s next

The Common Council must consider and adopt the amended PUD ordinance for the changes to take effect. The plan commission also noted that primary plat and construction‑level drawings will provide further detail on common areas, trails and street parking configuration.