Council approves revised preliminary plat for Columbiana/Farnsworth Village at Waterville Landings after debate, with conditions from Planning Commission

The City of Waterville Council approved a revised preliminary plat for Columbiana Village at Waterville Landings (Plats 2–6) and Farnsworth Village (Plats 7–10), a development of 173 single-family lots located off Pray Boulevard and west of Collin Drive.

The applicant’s civil engineer, Greg Feller of Feller Fitch & Associates, described several changes from the previously approved preliminary plat: removal of two cul-de-sacs in Columbian Village Plat 4; an enlarged detention area adjacent to U.S. 24 so lots do not back directly onto the expressway; and the introduction of a number of narrower lots (some reduced to roughly 58 feet wide) along the border adjacent to an existing apartment complex to create a transition zone. Feller said the revised layout responds to market demand for smaller, lower-cost single-family homes and that no zoning variances are requested.

At the Oct. 6 Planning Commission meeting, commissioners recommended approval of the revised preliminary plat subject to two conditions: (1) completion of a traffic-impact study with the final plat submittal for Farnsworth Village Plat 7 to determine whether a right-turn lane is needed from Waterville Monclova Road onto Collin Drive; and (2) continued clearing and grubbing of the Farnsworth ditch between Bridal Boulevard and Dutch Road to ensure drainage.

Council members expressed divided views during the Oct. 13 meeting. Some members said a few smaller lots would respond to demand for smaller, single-story homes and provide a transition from apartments to larger lots. Other members raised concerns about lot uniformity, neighborhood character and potential effects on surrounding property values. Several councilmembers asked the developer to provide digital renderings and floor-plan examples showing the product that would be built on the reduced-width lots.

The council initially tabled the measure to allow time to review models and renderings, but later in the same meeting moved to approve the revised preliminary plat (Resolution 31-25). Council accepted the Planning Commission conditions (traffic study and ditch work) and instructed the developer and staff to deliver the requested renderings and information at the next meeting. The approved preliminary plat shows approximately 173 lots in total; the developer said roughly 30 lots are smaller in the new design and the changed lots represent about 17% of the overall development.

Why it matters: The approval sets the layout for a sizable new residential subdivision in Waterville and frames questions about housing types, transitions from higher-density housing, stormwater/detention design, and road impacts. The Planning Commission conditions must be satisfied during final platting and infrastructure review.

Sources and context: Project description and lot counts were presented by civil engineer Greg Feller and summarized by city planning staff during the Oct. 13 council meeting; Planning Commission recommendation was read into the record.

Next steps: The developer must submit a traffic-impact study with the final plat for Farnsworth Plat 7; staff will monitor ditch clearing and drainage work and the developer will provide renderings for council review at the next meeting.