Oldham County reviews Summit Creek apartment plan; agencies flag traffic, sewer and stormwater concerns

The Oldham County Technical Review Committee on March 19, 2025 reviewed TRC25-005, a site plan and development proposal for the Summit Creek apartment complex on Hounds Lane in Crestwood. The committee took no action and will forward the case to the Planning Commission for formal review.

Why it matters: The proposal covers a multi-county development with 96 units in total (40 of which the applicant said will be in Jefferson County). Multiple county and state agencies flagged infrastructure needs — chiefly a required left-turn lane on KY‑22, potential sewer lift/station capacity and stormwater permits — that proponents must address before approvals proceed.

Planning staff told the committee the applicant must provide detailed utility and site information, including locations and sizes of water mains, proposed fire hydrants, gas lines and other underground utilities; a landscape and lighting plan; and identification of trees and steep slopes. Planner John Hahn also read letters from outside agencies into the record.

Anchorage and Middletown Fire and EMS, in a written comment read by staff, reserved the right to participate in plan review for fire- and life-safety items and listed items of concern including the locations of fire-department connections, hose connections compatible with AMFEMS couplings, and approval of fire hydrant locations. The fire agency said a building over 50,000 square feet or four stories or higher would require testing to determine whether an emergency radio broadcast system is needed, citing applicable fire code and national fire protection standards.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet staff (Jason Richardson) told the applicant that KYTC expects the developer to widen KY‑22 and provide an eastbound left-turn lane at the Hounds Lane intersection; Oldham County staff and the county engineer agreed the intersection has sight-distance and alignment issues and that the county’s most recent Highway 22 corridor study identified it as a priority location for improvement. County engineering staff said their recent funding application was not approved, so the development will need to meet mitigation requirements identified in subsequent permits or agreements.

Jeff Brown of MSD (sanitary sewer) reported that sanitary-sewer capacity currently exists for the site, but several residents described past backups and alarms at a nearby lift station and urged careful review. Resident and Orchard Grass city council member Bob Dalton described a past pump failure that allowed sewage to back up into his garage and said the lift-station alarm still activates during heavy rain. Dalton told the committee, “If we put 196 more toilets into that same hole, we’re gonna have an issue.”

County stormwater staff (Jim Silliman) said the site disturbance exceeds one acre and will therefore require Kentucky Division of Water (KRD/RYR 10) permitting at construction plan review and a stormwater-quality management and erosion-control permit. He said the site appears to affect blue-line streams that could require U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Kentucky Division of Water review or permits and cautioned that in‑stream detention or basins near tree stands will trigger special conditions; a drainage easement and stormwater-management agreement must be recorded before erosion-control surety release.

School district representative Michael Williams said the development would serve Crestwood Elementary, South Oldham Middle and South Oldham High schools under the county’s multifamily allocation policy. He warned that only units located in Oldham County will be eligible for Oldham County Schools and said landlords must make that eligibility clear to renters: “...only the Oldham County units will be eligible to attend Oldham County Schools. So when you are renting them, you need to make that to your rentals abundantly clear because we will kick them out.”

Other technical items noted by staff included coordinating unit addresses with GIS Manager Matt Toler, providing a landscape/lighting plan prior to building permits, and clarifying whether roads and parking would be privately maintained (the applicant confirmed they will be private). Louisville Water Company noted existing nearby infrastructure but said service eligibility depends on retail service-area boundaries and formal new-service applications.

Public commenters raised recurring concerns about sewer reliability, traffic volumes and site buffering. Bob Dalton described repeated alarm activations at the nearby lift station and urged relocating sewer infrastructure farther uphill. Several neighbors asked about fencing and a 25‑foot landscape buffer shown on the plans; county staff said regulations require a perimeter landscape buffer where multifamily adjoins single-family and that developers could provide fencing or evergreens to screen adjacent yards, but trespassing onto private property would be a police enforcement matter.

Traffic and timing were a frequent point of public concern. County staff said required improvements would typically be completed in coordination with the development so mitigation is in place when the project opens, but residents urged that intersection improvements occur before construction given existing high traffic during shift-change hours at nearby employers.

The applicant team (Mike Swansburne, attorney; Kathy Linaris, engineer; and developer representatives John Waze and Heather Keeling) said they have begun coordination with KYTC and county staff and will continue addressing the agencies’ comments as the project advances. The committee closed the TRC review and instructed staff to forward materials to the Planning Commission; adjoining property owners will receive notice of the next hearing.

Next steps: The developer must submit revised plans addressing the utility, fire-safety, stormwater and traffic comments; required permits (including state stormwater and any federal wetland permits) must be obtained as part of construction-plan review; and the Planning Commission will consider the project at a future public hearing.