Walker planning commission recommends approval of Waterford Reserve plat, sets conditions on drainage, trees and easements

The Walker Planning Commission on June 12, 2025 recommended approval to the City Commission for the final preliminary plat of Waterford Reserve, a roughly 29-acre portion of the Waterford Village planned unit development at 3487 Lake Michigan Drive NW, that would create 52 single‑family lots. The motion passed with conditions requiring the applicant to resolve city-engineering items, record easements and covenants, submit sealed civil plans and clear dead trees noted by neighbors.

The recommendation follows prior approvals for the overall Waterford Village PUD: a preliminary area site plan in 2021, final area site plan approval by the planning commission in December 2023, and a city commission approval of the tentative preliminary plat in January 2024. Planning Director Paula Priebe told commissioners this is the last planning-commission review; the city commission now must give final approval before building permits and construction begin.

Why it matters: The plat divides the northern portion of Waterford Village (zoned RPD-1) into 52 lots and introduces a two-phase build plan that residents said could affect stormwater, tree buffers and neighborhood access. Commissioners and city engineering staff flagged several technical and neighborhood concerns — chiefly drainage modeling, a large water transmission main along the north property line, easement recording and removal of dead trees in the buffer line.

Details of the proposal and conditions - Layout and phasing: The plat as presented splits construction into two phases. Phase 1 contains 11 lots that front on existing Marlborough Street and use existing street frontage and utilities; phase 2 requires construction of new roads and full utility infrastructure. The plat itself is advanced as a single document even though construction may be phased. - Lots and acreage: The parcel for this final preliminary plat is…