The Longview City Council on July 8 approved the Taylor Island Estates planned unit development (PUD) and subdivision, a proposal for 54 single-family lots on about 12.83 acres at 5431 Mousel Road.

City staff told the council the site is zoned R-1 (low-density residential) and that the PUD will preserve 41% of the property as open space, with about 18% of that area designated for recreational use in a loop trail. The applicant proposed lot sizes ranging from about 3,000 to 6,000 square feet and reduced lot frontages of roughly 25 to 35 feet under the PUD standards. Utilities will be extended to serve the development, and stormwater will be managed on-site via a detention facility discharging to an existing City ID ditch. A SEPA determination of non-significance was issued May 15, 2025, and the Planning Commission gave preliminary approval on June 4, 2025.

Planner Aaron (city staff member) said the project proposes a single public road access from Mount Solar Road with a 50-foot right-of-way and 30-foot pavement width — narrower than the typical 60-foot right-of-way and 32-foot pavement the standard requires — and that the city engineer and fire marshal approved the street-width modification on the basis that safe circulation would be maintained and because of site constraints created by surrounding ditch features. Because the development proposes 30 or more units with a single access point, the approval included the condition that all homes be built with fire sprinklers, a requirement the city reported was imposed by the fire marshal as part of the access variance.

City staff also summarized the traffic study prepared for the project, which estimated roughly 513 daily vehicle trips from the development and concluded studied intersections would continue to meet adopted level-of-service standards; a mid-block crosswalk to serve Mount Sura Middle School was recommended and will be provided. Parking will be provided in two-car garages consistent with the code's requirement of two spaces per single-family unit.

A council member moved to adopt the Planning Commission recommendation to approve the PUD and subdivision; the motion was seconded and approved by the council with the vote recorded as "aye." No individual roll-call vote totals or names were recorded in the meeting transcript beyond the motion, second and the council's unanimous vocal "aye."

Why it matters: The approval allows increased housing density on a site adjacent to Mount Sura Middle School and Artuso Park while retaining a large share of the property as open space; the modified lot and street standards were granted under the PUD process in exchange for added open space and design flexibility.

Next steps and implementation: The applicant will proceed to construction plan review and permitting. Street lighting locations and final engineering details will be set during construction-plan review by the city engineer; stormwater detention design must meet city standards, and utilities will be extended to serve the subdivision. The city will record conditions of approval as part of the subdivision process.