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Hearing examiner weighs Peachtree Estates 3 rezone and 242‑lot preliminary plat; staff recommends approval, record left open for condition language
Summary
At a Richland Hearing Examiner session, staff recommended approval of a rezone from agriculture to R2S and C2 and a 242‑lot preliminary plat for Peachtree Estates 3. The applicant and staff will refine three proposed conditions; the record remains open for proposed language until the end of the week.
The Richland Hearing Examiner heard testimony on a rezone and preliminary plat for Peachtree Estates 3, a 58.39‑acre development proposing 242 single‑family lots in six phases and four commercial tracts, and accepted public comment before leaving the record open for revisions to several conditions.
Staff recommended approval of both the rezone — changing the parcels from agricultural zoning to R2S (medium‑density single‑family residential) and C2 (commercial) — and the preliminary plat, subject to the standard and proposed conditions of approval. Planning staff emphasized that the city council makes the final decision on any rezone and that a plat approved before a council decision on zoning carries conditions warning the applicant of council discretion.
Jason Maddox of PBS Engineering and Environmental, representing the applicant MD and D Investments, described the project layout and history. He said comprehensive plan map amendments were approved previously to align the commercial and roadway locations, and that the application preserves the acreage for commercial and residential uses consistent with the Badger Mountain South subarea plan. Maddox said utilities are being extended from adjacent Peachtree Estates phases and Sienna Hills, and that the developer is oversizing a TAP 5 water line and dedicating an area identified as Tract E for a future city water reservoir. He told the examiner the Richland School District has been consulted and that the civic parcel shown for a future school reflects prior boundary adjustments with the district and remains unchanged in acreage.
Planning staff and the applicant explained utility and infrastructure arrangements: a looped potable water system with two pressure zones (TAPTeal 4 and TAPTeal 5), gravity sanitary sewer connections to existing lines and to the Sienna Hills lift station, on‑site stormwater retention via infiltration basins, and irrigation water provided by Badger Mountain Irrigation District (BMID). Richland Energy Services will provide electric service from a feeder on the project’s west boundary.
One resident, Alyssa Moeller of Westcliff Heights, urged the examiner to consider lower‑density housing, potentially more commercial zoning along Gage Boulevard, safer pedestrian connections for a future school site, additional open space that is not a detention basin, and thorough traffic analysis given recent crashes in the area.
Three conditions of approval drew the most discussion. The applicant proposed clarifications to: (1) condition 33 concerning grading associated with dedicating Tract E for a future reservoir — the applicant asked that required grading be limited to land within the plat boundary rather than off‑site parcels; (2) condition 51 concerning dedication of stormwater tracts — the applicant sought flexibility to finalize the number and placement of stormwater tracts at final engineering rather than be bound to an exact tract count in the preliminary plat; and (3) condition 23 requiring traffic calming on Dulcis Avenue — the applicant asked for clearer, implementable language because final roadway grades and engineering will affect the appropriate traffic calming measures.
Staff agreed with the applicant’s clarifying intent and said condition 33 would not require grading of land outside the plat boundary. Staff and the applicant agreed to confer and propose specific revised wording; Hearing Examiner Gary McLean left the record open for the parties to submit proposed condition language (staff said they would coordinate with public works and aim to provide suggested language by the end of the week). The examiner said he would close the record after receiving the recommended modifications and then issue a written recommendation to city council on the rezone and a written decision on the preliminary plat.
No final decision or vote was taken at the hearing. The record will remain open for the limited purpose of receiving proposed edits to the listed conditions of approval; the examiner did not set a final decision date during the hearing.
