Committee reviews West Creek Village sketch plat; raises concerns about sidewalks, parkland and connectivity

The City of Victoria Park and Recreation Committee reviewed a revised sketch plat for the West Creek Village residential development during its Jan. 22 meeting. Jenna Smith, a City staff presenter, summarized the revised proposal from developer Lennar and described changes from a prior submission.

Smith said the overall parcel is "a little over 88 acres," of which "37 or so" acres are developable; the revised plan shows about 13 single-family homes and 48 townhome units. "This is a revised proposal sketch plat for this land," Smith said, noting the developer reduced units from the prior submission. She said Lennar is proposing a 0.253-acre tot lot as the parkland dedication and that the remainder of the parkland requirement would likely be satisfied by a monetary (fee-in-lieu) contribution under the city's municipal code.

Committee members pressed staff on pedestrian connections and open space. A committee member noted that sidewalk policy recommends sidewalks on both sides of streets "for developments with density over 3 units per acre," and pointed out the townhome portion exceeds that threshold. Several members recommended sidewalks on both sides of the townhome streets and said any sidewalk in the adjacent Marsh Hollow development should connect rather than dead-end.

Members also said the proposed tot lot is small and would not accommodate larger equipment or courts. Smith explained a tot lot is a "smaller plot" intended for younger children and would not be adequate for amenities such as a basketball court or picnic shelter; she added that the developer would dedicate land but that installation of equipment was not proposed at this stage.

The committee discussed trail alignment around wetlands and the limits created by wetland buffers. Members suggested routing trails around the wetland edges where buffers and property lines permit, noting existing trails at Marsh Hollow currently dead-end at the development edge. Smith said the City Council reviewed the project's first sketch plat on Aug. 5 and that, if this revised plan advances with the committee's recommendations and council agreement, the plat likely would not return to the Park and Recreation Committee.

Votes at a glance (meeting housekeeping): The committee approved the meeting minutes by voice vote; a motion to adjourn later in the meeting also passed by voice vote. Specific tallies were not recorded in the transcript.