Oldham County panel approves two waivers for Little Pond Road minor plat in Goshen

The Oldham County Planning and Zoning Commission on Feb. 25 approved two waivers for a proposed minor plat at 10801 Little Pond Road in Goshen, allowing a fourth parcel to take access from a shared access easement and permitting a segment of the easement to remain 30 feet wide where 40 feet is required. Both waivers passed unanimously, 11-0.

Staff reported that the parcel is 3.79 acres in R1 residential zoning and that the proposed minor plat would create a new 1.10-acre tract and leave a 2.62-acre residual lot. Anna Barge, Senior Planner for Oldham County, told commissioners the applicant must submit a minor plat and survey for staff review before any building permits would be issued and that a shared road maintenance agreement must be prepared and recorded with the minor plat.

Barge said the county subdivision regulation limits access from a single street or access easement to three parcels under section 5.7(e); the applicant sought a waiver so a fourth parcel may take access from the existing easement. She also said subdivision regulation section 7.1 requires a 40-foot access easement and that a narrow portion of the existing easement is 30 feet, prompting the second waiver request.

Applicant William Aaron Withrow, who identified himself as the owner of the property at 10801 Little Pond Road, confirmed that the new proposed tract would have at least 40-foot width on the new portion of access but that the existing easement segment that serves neighboring property remains 30 feet. Withrow told commissioners he had notified adjoining owners and said conversations had been held with neighbors.

Commissioner Douglas moved to approve the waiver of section 5.7(e) to permit a fourth parcel to take access from the easement, incorporating staff’s suggested conditions: that the waiver apply only to the plan presented at the Feb. 25 hearing; that a minor plat and survey be submitted to staff for review and approval prior to issuance of building permits; and that a shared road maintenance agreement be prepared, agreed to by the affected parties and recorded with the minor plat. Commissioner Marsh seconded. A roll-call vote recorded 11 yes, 0 no and the motion passed.

Commissioner Krauss then moved to approve the waiver of the access-easement-width requirement in section 7.1 with the same conditions about applicability to the plan, minor-plat submission, and staff review; the motion was seconded and passed in a separate roll-call vote of 11-0.

During discussion staff and the applicant clarified that the proposed new internal access serving the new lot meets or exceeds 40 feet in the plan presented to the commission, and that the requested width waiver applies only to the existing narrow segment that predates the application. Staff advised that when the applicant files the minor plat for record, planning staff will verify whether the recorded easement language and the surveyed dimensions match the approved plan; if not, further permits or waivers would be required.

No members of the public spoke for or against the waivers during the hearing.

Conditions attached to both approvals require that (1) the waivers apply only to the plan reviewed at the Feb. 25, 2025 public hearing; (2) a minor plat application and survey must be submitted to staff for review and approval prior to issuance of any building permits; and (3) a shared road maintenance agreement must be prepared, agreed to by all affected parties and recorded with the minor plat.

Next steps: the applicant must submit the minor plat and the recorded shared maintenance agreement before building permits can be issued.