Independence planning commission hears hours of public comment on Concordia preliminary plan; no final decision

The Independence Planning Commission heard more than a dozen residents, the developer and city staff at a Feb. 4 public hearing on a preliminary plan for the Concordia property, an 18.2-acre parcel the city acquired behind Concordia Lutheran Church. The hearing closed after a roll-call vote; the commission did not approve or deny the plan and left outstanding engineering, variance and procedural questions for later consideration.

Jessica (Economic Development Director) told the commission the city worked with Concordia Lutheran Church to acquire the 18.2 acres and engaged Petros Development (Petros Homes) to propose a neighborhood of single-family homes on smaller lots under a U1A overlay. She said the developer’s updated site plan shows 62 lots, added landscape screening, a looped water line to Stone Road and a larger stormwater basin that the developer says exceeds city code. “The developer submitted a tree study in compliance with the city's preliminary site plan requirements,” she said.

The nut graf: residents who live along Stone Road and downstream from the Concordia tract strongly contested the plan’s environmental and procedural aspects, including tree removal, increased runoff and the presence of active gas wells on the site. Several speakers also alleged notice and application defects and urged the commission to require additional studies or a residents’ meeting before advancing the application.

Most substantive public comments focused on stormwater and tree removal. Petros Development representative Greg Modic said the…