Planning Commission approves preliminary major subdivision for Linden Drive, forwards final plat to council

The Winchester Planning Commission on June 17 approved a preliminary major subdivision for a planned-unit development on Linden Drive and forwarded a recommendation on the final plat to City Council.

City planning staff Sam Stewart summarized the proposal as a 91-parcel major subdivision that would create several public streets, platted townhomes, single-family homes facing Linden Drive and three sections of two-over-two condominium parcels. Stewart said the developer had revised plats to eliminate narrow leftover parcels, added easements to preserve a 10-foot buffer between townhomes and single-family lots, and shifted some parking and access to avoid placing an underground stormwater facility inside the city park.

Public comment at the hearing focused on traffic, parking and park access. Gregory Jones, who identified himself as living at 340 Linden Drive, told the commission he was concerned that construction and long-term traffic would be routed across the crest of Linden Drive and that the project’s current layout removed a traffic circle that would have distributed traffic more evenly. Jones said the design could cause higher traffic at a blind curve and asked that the roundabout at the bottom of Linden be reconsidered. "I'm Gregory Jones, and I live up 340 Linden Drive, so I'm directly across from where this project's gonna take place," Jones said at the podium.

Rick Miller and other nearby residents echoed concerns about access and the adequacy of parking, worried the shared parking lot adjacent to the new city park would be used by residents and that on-street parking might be insufficient. John Stacy said he supports the project based on prior approvals and an email he submitted in support.

Stewart and the applicant's representatives described parking provisions: "Each unit has a full-length parking pad and a garage," Stewart said, and the streets were designed to provide on-street parallel parking where appropriate. The plan also includes a shared parking lot that the developer proposes to keep under homeowners association (HOA) maintenance while allowing public access when the park is open; staff clarified typical city park hours are dusk to dawn and that a parking lot maintained by an HOA would not be restricted from public use during park hours.

Other technical details Stewart highlighted: a roundabout at the north end (to be built by the developer for this phase), a second roundabout tied to a later "active adult" phase, an underground stormwater facility located adjacent to shared property lines (hence the 10-foot maintenance easements), and curb-to-curb widths of about 36 feet on key streets. Construction access locations are described in the site plan under review; staff said the current construction entrance is in the middle of the site near the townhome area.

Commissioners debated whether to add a condition requiring park improvements such as sidewalks and parallel parking on Linden Drive. One commissioner moved to approve the preliminary subdivision subject to a condition that the final plan include park improvements; the motion was seconded. After additional discussion about whether that condition should carry to the final-plat recommendation, the commission ultimately approved the preliminary subdivision and voted to recommend the final subdivisions to City Council; the motion as carried did not add a standalone condition beyond standard staff review and approval of final plans.

The commission's action moves the final plat and related materials to City Council for final approval and directs staff to continue site-plan review and coordination on pedestrian access, parking counts and roadway details.