Derby planning commission backs rezoning for duplexes near Woodlawn despite neighbors' flooding concerns

The City of Derby Planning Commission voted 9-0 on Aug. 7 to recommend that City Council approve a zone change for roughly 39.8 acres of an annexed tract near South 50th Street South and Woodlawn Boulevard, moving the property from R1A (urban-density single-family residential) to R2 (two-family residential). Commissioner Quigley made the motion to forward the recommendation; Commissioner Wells seconded it.

The commission’s recommendation came after nearly two hours of public comment, in which residents living in and near the Northbrook neighborhood pressed planners and the applicant about recurring flooding and whether drainage studies had been completed. “I worry about my home,” said Jennifer Searle, a Northbrook resident at 3457 Tyndall Street, describing high water in nearby ditches during heavy rain.

Why it matters: The vote advances a plan that would allow duplexes where single-family homes are currently the expected urban pattern. Because the property was annexed from county jurisdiction, the commission’s recommendation does not finalize development; detailed platting, drainage plans, and any required federal or state permits must still be completed before building can begin.

City and developer officials told the commission that the rezoning itself does not authorize construction in regulated floodway or floodplain areas and that the planning review that follows would require detention and drainage engineering. Scott Knaebel, city planner, told the commission “the planning process is the process by which the predominant concern that’s been expressed here — the drainage — gets addressed.” Dan Squires, the city’s development director and a licensed professional engineer, added that detention basins are designed to handle runoff and that “the detention ponds are built to hold water ... they are designed for a hundred-year storm.”

Residents said they had seen repeated flooding on streets and creeks near the site and asked whether federal agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA would be involved in any permitting. Carl Hodges, a nearby resident at 6400 East 50 5th Street South, asked whether a wetlands/wetland determination and stormwater engineers had reviewed the site; Phil Meyer, agent for the applicant with Boffman Company, replied that Corps and wetland studies, USDA reviews and detailed drainage design would be part of the subsequent planning process and that wetlands and stream areas would “typically” be placed in a reserve and left undeveloped.

Meyer also addressed a rumor about subsidized housing, saying the developer “does not plan on doing Section 8 housing. ... Those units will be sold. Many of them will be rentals. Many of them will be owned by the individual living in them.” He told the commission the application deliberately excludes much of the floodplain acreage from the rezoning: the request covers 39.8 acres of a roughly 50.8-acre annexation; the remainder would be platted as drainage reserve.

Commissioners and staff clarified other process issues raised by speakers. Knaebel said the annexation had been approved by council earlier in July and would become effective in late August (staff cited Aug. 25 and later referenced Aug. 27 during the hearing). He also noted that Woodlawn Boulevard is a capital improvement project already in the city’s CIP and that the planned work is a street reconstruction to an urban standard with enclosed storm sewer, not a widening project. City staff said the Woodlawn improvements are scheduled for 2026 and that the developer must account for those planned changes when preparing drainage designs.

What was decided: The commission recommended approval of the zone change from R1A to R2 and attached a condition that the subject property be platted within one year. The formal recommendation will be considered by City Council; the plat, engineering and any required federal/state permits must be completed before building permits are issued.

Next steps and context: If City Council approves the rezoning, plat and engineering work will proceed; those documents will specify detention pond sizing, finished pad elevations, and required easements. Staff also said anyone who signed up to speak at the public hearing will be notified when the developer’s plat and drainage plan are scheduled for review so neighbors can review the technical plans and attend that public hearing.

Residents, the developer and city staff agreed the main outstanding questions center on how runoff from new impervious surfaces will be detained and routed through the existing drainage network and how the planned Woodlawn reconstruction will interact with site drainage. The commission’s action advances the zoning decision but does not authorize construction in floodway or floodplain areas.