Lucas County planners approve zone change and preliminary plat for Stoneridge Farms; public raises density, access concerns

The Lucas County Planning Commission voted to approve a zone change (case Z19C698) and a preliminary drawing (case S15-25) for Stoneridge Farms plat 9 and 10, a proposed subdivision south of Angola Road and west of Centennial Road in Springfield Township. Staff recommended approval, and the commission’s approvals will move to the Springfield Township trustees for their final decision.

Staff said the zone change would introduce a land use compatible with surrounding residential uses and would be consistent with the 2020 Springfield Township land-use plan. The commission’s approval covers a change from RA (suburban residential district, PUD overlay) to straight RA suburban-family residential and approval of a preliminary drawing for 54 lots, subject to the conditions listed in the staff report.

The developer’s representative, Greg Feller of Feller, Finch and Associates, told the commission the request removes an overlay PUD and returns the parcel to the underlying RA zoning. “All’s we’re doing is just, eliminating the PUD,” Feller said. He added the request is not seeking greater density: “We’re just asking for the underlying zoning. That’s really all I have.” Feller said the RA PUD would allow up to 3.2 units per acre — which could produce as many as 74 lots — but the applicant is proposing 54 lots.

Several neighbors opposed the proposal at the public hearing. Josh Rogers, speaking for Springfield Township, said the change is consistent with the township’s land-use plan. Resident John Ehlert told the commission the southern portion of the site lacks a turnaround and said that similar areas in nearby subdivisions have been difficult for school buses, garbage trucks, fire departments and snowplows to serve. “We already have several areas … that is difficult for school buses, garbage trucks, fire department, and snowplows to get in and out of,” Ehlert said.

Resident Andy Woodard said the proposed lot widths were smaller than many existing lots and warned of tree loss and wildlife impacts. “The lot size as presented in the map is 39 feet smaller than our existing lot sizes,” Woodard said, and he asked commissioners to consider the effect on neighborhood character and property values. Anne Fulkerson and Renee Rafke said the plan increases the number of lots compared with the original plat and raised safety and compatibility concerns with only two entrances to the subdivision.

Feller responded to the lot-size concerns by noting the existing neighborhood includes a range of lot widths. He said some lots in the existing subdivision are smaller or similar to the proposed lots and that modern construction costs make the proposed homes relatively high-value. On emergency access and the southern stub street, Feller said the county’s engineering office would require a temporary turnaround during construction: “That’s what we do. So we do a temporary turnaround until the land of the South will essentially develop, and then it'll extend to the South and you get rid of the temporary turnaround.”

On pond access and maintenance, Feller said the proposal will include its own detention pond and that four new lots will back up to an existing pond; whether future homeowners can use or maintain the existing pond will be resolved between the developer and the existing homeowners association. “Whether they have access to the pond or not, I don't know. That's probably gonna be up between the developer and the existing homeowners association,” Feller said.

A traffic estimate cited by the applicant projected up to 54 peak-hour vehicle trips for the 54 lots, which the applicant described as “at the most, 54 peak hour trips. That's 1 car a minute in the peak hour.” A traffic engineer present told the commission he concurred with the assessment.

The commission moved to approve the zoning change (Z19C698) and the preliminary plat (S15-25). The preliminary plat vote recorded one opposition; commissioners approved both items and the cases will proceed to the Springfield Township trustees for final action.

Votes at a glance: the commission approved Z19C698 (zone change) and S15-25 (preliminary drawing for Stoneridge Farms, plat 9 and 10). The preliminary drawing was approved subject to conditions in the staff report; one commissioner voiced opposition on the preliminary drawing vote.

The Springfield Township trustees will review the cases for final approval; implementation details such as deed restrictions, homeowner association responsibilities for pond maintenance, and construction plans for temporary turnarounds will be addressed in later stages.