Commission approves rezoning of Cedar Cross Road site for 180-unit apartment PUD

The Zoning Advisory Commission voted unanimously Feb. 5 to recommend rezoning an approximately 11-acre vacant parcel on Cedar Cross Road from C-3 General Commercial to a planned unit development with a PR (planned residential) designation to allow a six-building, 180-unit multifamily development proposed by Callahan Construction.

Applicant Joey Callahan described the proposal as "a 6 building, 180 unit total, apartment development, market rate apartments." City staff presented a conceptual plan showing six three-story buildings, a clubhouse, a dog run and pickleball courts, roughly 286 parking stalls (including 84 covered garage stalls), and a large detention basin. Staff said the proposal meets the city's parking standard (1.5 stalls per unit) and provides about 16 more stalls than the city's minimum requirement.

Traffic and access: staff said the project underwent a traffic study and city engineering reviewed the access design, including a new left-turn lane from southbound Cedar Cross Road into the development and separate left- and right-turn options for exiting the site to limit queuing. Sheena Moon, associate planner, reported an average annual daily traffic count of about 8,980 vehicles on Cedar Cross Road (2021 IDOT counts) and said the development-review team negotiated visibility, stacking and other engineering details; final curb and street-reconstruction details will be vetted in site-plan review.

Utilities, phasing and site design: staff said water and sanitary sewer are available in the area (water on Cedar Cross Road, sewer near Catfish Creek). The applicant indicated construction would occur in phases: phase 1 includes two buildings and the detention basin, phase 2 adds two more buildings, and phase 3 completes the last two buildings and site amenities. Staff noted landscaping, stormwater and site details will be reviewed in development-review and site-plan submittals; staff also included a 50-foot maximum building height limit in the draft ordinance.

Public input and vote: one nearby resident spoke about driveway turning-lane impacts; staff said driveway reconstructions for two adjacent commercial properties would be required as part of the turn-lane construction. No written opposition was in the record. The commission approved the rezoning on a roll-call vote with all present commissioners voting aye; the item will go to City Council on Feb. 17.

Next steps: if council approves the rezoning, the applicant must complete detailed engineering, site-plan review, landscaping and stormwater approvals with city engineering and the development-review team before building permits are issued.