Story County approves preliminary plat for Dayton Ridge Plat 2, with access easement condition

Story County supervisors on March 4 approved a preliminary plat for Dayton Ridge Plat 2, a major subdivision northeast of Ames that will create six lots, three of them newly developable, and convert an existing easement into a publicly dedicated, privately maintained street lot.

County planning staff told the board that the planning and zoning commission conditionally approved the plat in August 2024 and set eight conditions that the developer has since satisfied. The staff report said the developer provided a geotechnical analysis, corrected map labeling to include Parcel J and Lot 1, revised the access easement to a 60-foot width, and updated a maintenance agreement to identify which lot owners must contribute to private maintenance of the publicly dedicated road.

Planning staff said critical natural resource protections and tree-mitigation thresholds do not apply to the proposed developable areas. The staff presentation said the three new developable areas together involve about 0.66 acres within development envelopes and that topography may require alternative septic systems when building permits are applied for.

Neighbor Liz Peel testified at the meeting that her property abstracts show an easement and maintenance agreement for Dayton Parkway and said she is concerned about how the easement will change and whether maintenance responsibilities will shift.

Bob Gibson of Veil Design Advantage, the applicant’s representative, said the county had not found a recorded easement even though one had been recognized for decades. He said the subdivision will “clean that up” by recording new easement language and converting the portion needed for access into a publicly dedicated street. Property owner Jeff Gibbons confirmed a new maintenance agreement assigns responsibility for the new lots; some long-term neighbors opted not to join that new agreement, he said.

Planning staff and the applicant also told the board that the City of Ames waived its preliminary infrastructure review but retains review authority over the final plat; staff advised that the city must act first on the final plat. The staff recommendation included a condition that the driveway easement legal description be updated to reference Dayton Ridge Plat 2 and be re-recorded with the final plat.

Supervisor motioned to approve Resolution 25-71 for the major-subdivision preliminary plat with the staff-recommended condition and to grant the applicant’s alternative-compliance request for the flag lot; the motion passed on recorded voice votes.

The board did not hold a formal public hearing at this meeting but opened the floor for comments; the final plat and recording must follow within the one-year window for preliminary-plat approvals.

The subdivision process now moves to the City of Ames for final-plat review before the county will accept a final plat for recording and lot creation.