Commissioners send Davis Homes commitments back for engineering review, continue hearing to June 9

The Greenwood Advisory Planning Commission on Monday reopened the public hearing for PC2025-007, a Davis Homes annexation and commitments petition, to resolve a dispute over whether the developer must rebuild Combs Road across a roughly 300-foot stretch south of the development that the developer does not own.

The commission voted to continue the matter to June 9 to allow city, county and private engineers to meet, develop options for addressing the 300-foot gap and provide drawings showing what could be built within the existing right-of-way.

Why it matters: The contested commitment affects whether the developer must acquire adjacent private property or negotiate temporary construction easements to build a safer, wider roadway and pedestrian facilities. Commissioners and staff cited safety concerns at a nearby hill and the potential for increased vehicle and pedestrian traffic if the subdivision proceeds without off-site road improvements.

What was argued: Attorney for the petitioner described three prior commitments tied to the land; two had been previously clarified and approved, and the current dispute centers on paragraph 1(b), which the petitioner says should be read to require improvements only "property-line to property-line" on Davis Homes’ frontage. The petitioner said prior developer Dale Davis did not intend for the developer to reconstruct road segments in the county that the developer does not control: "We can't do work there. We have no right to," the petitioner said when explaining the developer's position.

The petitioner said his client made cash offers to adjacent property owners—"The cash offer was $60,000 per rate across the board," according to Paul Carroll, who represented the petitioner on offers to acquire ground—and those offers were rejected. The petitioner said the county would allow work in its narrow right-of-way but would not sell or convey additional land, leaving the developer unable to widen the roadway without county or adjacent-owner cooperation.

Planning staff and commissioners described site constraints including a 30-foot existing right-of-way and an old pipeline easement/fiber line running through the northern parcel that limit placement of sidewalks and trail elements. Staff proposed amended commitment language that would require the developer to work collaboratively with Johnson County and adjacent property owners to produce a detailed plan for the 300-foot gap, to hold a meeting with Greenwood and Johnson County, and to construct right-of-way improvements as part of the proposed development contingent on receiving county consent; staff also said the amendment would expire if adjacent properties were later annexed into Greenwood.

Safety and funding questions: Commissioners repeatedly raised safety concerns about sight lines over the hill on Combs Road and sought clarity on who would pay for off-site improvements if needed. City staff and county representatives said collaborative engineering work would identify feasible options; staff estimated it would take roughly 60 days to produce fieldwork and engineering options.

Motion and outcome: The commission voted to continue the item to June 9 to allow the three engineering entities (city, county and petitioner’s engineer) to develop options and meet. The motion to continue was moved by Commissioner Stambaugh and seconded by Commissioner Probst; the motion carried 8-0.

Next steps: Staff requested the petitioner provide engineering options and existing-condition surveys, and for the city and Johnson County to meet with the petitioner’s engineer to determine whether road and pedestrian improvements can be built within the existing right-of-way or would require temporary construction easements or property acquisition.