Developer and residents debate drainage, wells and construction methods for Haber Road-area subdivision

Council and the applicant discussed engineering and neighborhood impacts for the preliminary development plan at the northwest corner of National Road and Haber Road during the Oct. 7 Clayton City Council meeting.

Lance Oakes, the project's developer, told the council he and his engineers have “oversized” the proposed detention basin and added an extra freeboard as a safety factor; he said the grading and detention should improve — and possibly eliminate — the ponding residents now report. "We're very confident that we're gonna make the situation that's there today much better, if not fix it," Oakes said.

Council members and residents pressed the developer on three areas: surface-water drainage and ponding in rear yards, possible impacts to private wells, and excavation/blasting for rock removal. Resident Liam Bustos and Dana York (both Haber Road addresses) described existing steep road grades and localized ponding downstream from the planned entrance and asked whether the project's grading would redirect more water onto adjacent properties. Bustos said he measured a 30-inch drop over 243 feet approaching the intersection and urged careful review of the grading plans.

Oakes responded that current sheet-flow from farm fields already collects at the low spot and that his team expects the engineered detention basin to reduce peak flows; he acknowledged he had not reviewed a specific August 18 letter from the city's consultant during the meeting but said his engineer had and remains confident. On wells, Oakes said the deepest excavation for utilities and sanitary lines would be roughly 10–15 feet and "I'm not going anywhere near" the 40–60 foot depths some residents reported for their private wells; he added that homeowners would have the option to connect to city water if they chose. "If something does happen and they can prove that I negatively affected their water well, then by all means, I'm definitely opening myself up for liability and I'm going to have to address that," Oakes said.

Council and the developer also discussed subsurface conditions and construction methods. Oakes said borings encountered rock in limited locations and that crews expect to use mechanical ripping or, if necessary, a "rock wheel" — but not blasting — to remove shallow rock. He said sanitary-service trenches could reach 11–15 feet depth, and that most house foundations would be shallower than worst-case rock-bearing depths. Council members asked whether basements would be feasible; Oakes said basements remain an option for many homes and that borings did not show rock at typical basement depths.

Multiple residents raised additional site-specific concerns in the visitor comments portion of the meeting. Lance Oakes offered to meet with residents and his engineering team after the meeting to review the geotechnical and drainage analyses directly.

The council voted to approve the ordinance adopting/modifying the planning commission's recommendation for the preliminary plan; the roll call recorded five yes votes and two no votes (Farmer and Henning). Council directed staff and the developer to follow up on outstanding engineering and traffic questions with the city engineer and to provide replies to residents.

Next steps: City staff said they will provide detailed engineering responses, and the developer agreed to coordinate with the city's contract engineer on drainage and traffic study clarifications.