Commission hears Broadmoor preliminary plan that would add workforce housing, requests tighter mitigation and design changes

The Metro Water Stormwater Management Commission heard a presentation on Case 2024-00033, the Broadmoor subdivision preliminary site plan in Council District 5, and provided feedback but took no formal action.

Applicant representatives — including Doug Sloan (representing the development group), an attorney for the applicant and Laura Schroeder with Hawkins Partners — said the roughly 50-acre project would create about 300 total units, including more than 200 workforce or affordable units in coordination with the nearby Ben Allen Ridge project. The applicant described proposed disturbance of a Zone 1 stream buffer to construct a road and sidewalk, extension and scour repair to an existing culvert and two pedestrian greenway crossings within 1,000 feet of each other; the two proposed crossings are approximately 610 feet apart on the plan.

The applicant said the drainage area to the culvert is about 65 acres, that culvert work would add a headwall and address local scour rather than extend the culvert, and that a tree survey and landscape/mitigation plans would be submitted with the final SP. Presenters said planned mitigation includes meadow seed mixes and tree saplings and emphasized preserving existing vegetation where feasible.

Logan (staff) said the commission had received a letter of support from Councilmember Sean Parker. One nearby property owner, Quentin Groves, said he attended to learn how the plan would affect his land and asked for materials and clarification.

Commissioners probed alternatives and design details. Questions included whether parking layout could be changed so parallel stalls near the buffer become perpendicular, whether roadway alignment could be adjusted to reduce buffer disturbance, and whether the developer had explored alternate greenway alignments. Staff and the applicant said topography constrained alignment: the site’s flattest areas lie near the stream, and shifting the road could increase grading and reduce housing yield. Commissioners encouraged applicants to maximize buffer averaging where possible and to provide more detailed native planting lists and mitigation quantities with the final submission.

The commission also discussed regulatory constraints: Greenways often follow waterways and may require variances from the 1,000-foot-per-crossing provision in the stormwater manual; staff noted Greenway connections and proposed preservation of open space as offsetting impacts. No vote or variance decision was taken; the hearing was informational and the preliminary SP will return in revised form in a future submission.