Developer introduces Briarwood rezoning for 49 single‑family lots; council and residents raise traffic and access concerns

Drees Homes on Wednesday introduced a request to rezone a 16.4‑acre parcel along County Road 900 — the “Briarwood” or Patel property — from agricultural to R4 to allow up to 49 single‑family detached homes.

Caitlin Dofer, land acquisition manager for Drees Homes, told the Avon Town Council the site has about 250 feet of frontage on County Road 900, an existing perimeter tree line the developer wants to preserve and an existing access easement to the neighbor to the south. “We would like to request our R4 zoning for 49 single family detached lots,” Dofer said. She said the firm plans single‑story, “empty‑nester”‑targeted ranch homes, with average sales price projected around $425,000, about 3.3 acres of open space (roughly 20% of the site) and minimum ground‑floor area of 1,500 square feet.

Planner Linda Albrum said the site is shown as “specialty housing” on the comprehensive plan’s future land use map and that the planning staff will vet density and design commitments at the Plan Commission review. “The comp plan continues to move on,” Albrum said earlier in staff reports about broader planning work.

Council and staff questioned whether a full‑access entrance with a left‑turn lane could be provided. Dofer said a traffic study recommended a dedicated left‑turn lane, but that adding one would require taking right‑of‑way from existing homes on the east side of 900. To avoid impacting neighbors’ front yards the developer proposed a right‑in/right‑out entrance.

“When we looked at it, we did require that they'd have the ordinance‑required left turn lanes, and they couldn't meet that,” Public Works Director Steve Moore said. Moore said the ordinance allows a shorter separation standard for a right‑in/right‑out driveway and that the town would require a center median on 900 to limit left turns.

Councilor Robert Pope questioned whether the developer had attempted to acquire property to align the new entrance with Eden Gate across the street; Dofer said Drees had not reached out to adjacent homeowners to buy their driveway locations but had coordinated with the neighbor whose driveway abuts lot 39.

Residents urged caution. Bob Culler, who said he serves on the UDO steering committee, told the council R4 is intended for multifamily uses in the UDO’s framework and said he did not support R4 for this parcel. Ron Fraser, an adjacent resident, said a right‑in/right‑out entrance would force homeowners to travel farther to access homes and called the project’s age‑targeting “not 55+ — it sounds like marketing.”

The zoning request was introduced for council and staff review; no final zoning vote was taken at the meeting. Dofer said the plan will go to the Plan Commission on Jan. 27 for formal consideration.

Council members asked staff to evaluate driveway‑separation rules and to confirm whether the required left‑turn lane standards can be met without acquiring adjacent private property. The council also asked staff to include the traffic‑access analysis in materials for the Plan Commission meeting.

The council did not act on the rezoning; the rezoning will proceed through the standard public hearing process at the Plan Commission and return to the council if forwarded for final action.