The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously Thursday to recommend that City Council approve a Plan Development (PD) for a 2.01‑acre site at 203 Arctic Wolf Court that would yield 20 single‑family attached dwellings known as Van Der Veen Village.
Staff presented the request as a rezoning from RMF (residential multifamily) to PD with an associated statement of intent and preliminary plat. The PD would create 23 lots: 20 to be developed with attached dwellings, and three common lots for access and drainage. Staff recommended approval, noting the development’s 10 units‑per‑acre yield is below the maximum allowable density under multifamily zoning and that the PD form is needed because the base UDC does not readily accommodate small “postage‑stamp” ownership lots and the dimensional relief proposed.
The applicant, civil engineer Jay Gephart, told commissioners the PD approach is intended to allow individual lot sales (rather than condominiums) so homes can qualify for conventional Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae financing. “Going to the Board of Adjustment is a non‑starter for us because the hardship that we would have to prove is self‑created,” Gephart said, and the PD is the “vehicle that is best suited for this.”
The PD includes several design exceptions to Unified Development Code dimensional standards: reduced lot width (many lots around 23 feet), smaller lot area (below the usual 3,500 square feet), driveway widths that slightly exceed half the lot width, and rear‑yard impervious coverage above the 30 percent standard in some cases. Staff characterized the exceptions as typical for townhome developments and said they were appropriate to allow an ownership product that might be more attainable than larger lots.
Plans show the dwellings fronting public streets with private rear streets (platted as a common lot) providing ingress/egress and rear parking; five groups of four units are proposed, with two common drainage lots and sidewalks along the private streets. The PD would permit 35‑foot maximum building heights and a 15 percent landscaped area per the statement of intent. Staff also noted existing sewer and drainage easements on the site; the private street will be 24 feet wide to meet fire access standards.
Commissioners asked whether the PD automatically includes the design exceptions and were told the exceptions are part of the PD package and need not be voted on separately. Commissioner Brodsky and others commented that the city’s UDC may need future updates to better accommodate small‑lot attached housing without repeated design exceptions. Commissioner Stanton moved to approve the rezoning, the PD plan, the statement of intent and the preliminary plat; Commissioner Ortiz seconded. A roll call vote recorded unanimous yeses from commissioners in attendance; the commission’s recommendation will go to city council.
The commission’s record shows staff found UDC compliance except for the dimensional standards listed above and concluded the PD approach creates ownership opportunities while maintaining setbacks from public streets. The recommendation was forwarded to City Council for final action.