Planning commission approves Estates of Ballard Woods preliminary plan, 83 lots on 175.5 acres

The Oldham County Planning Commission voted 7-0 on Jan. 28 to approve PZ-25-003, the preliminary subdivision plan for the Estates of Ballard Woods, Section 2, submitted by JS Realty. Senior Planner Anna Barge told the commission the application covers approximately 175.5 acres and proposes 83 single-family lots with a net density of about 1.55 dwelling units per acre; the plan shows mixed AG-1, CO-1 and R-1 zoning with about 33.3 acres of open-space and floodplain along the eastern boundary.

Barge summarized the site history and prior planning approvals affecting adjacent Ballard Glen and Ballard Woods subdivisions and said TRC comments and the Oldham County future land-use map indicate the proposed use is consistent with the existing zoning and the comprehensive plan. She noted the preliminary plan does not seek variances or waivers and that a traffic assessment was included in the packet because of expected generation.

County technical staff (Mr. Silliman) reviewed permitting and environmental points: because the project involves more than one acre of disturbance, the developer must obtain a county stormwater/erosion-control permit and a KYR-10 permit from the Division of Water; Army Corps coordination would be required if jurisdictional waters are affected. Silliman also noted the plan reduces lots compared with earlier approvals (a prior combination of approvals totaled more lots) and that reduction decreases the number of potential septic systems and stormwater impacts.

Attorney Mike Swansberg and developer Walt Shum presented the application. Swansberg said the current proposal drops a previously planned bridge connection across the North Fork of Floyds Fork (citing estimated bridge and centralized sewer costs exceeding roughly $2 million combined) and increases lot sizes in the southern portion to about 1.25 acres, yielding a plan the applicants described as economically feasible and environmentally preferable to earlier proposals. Swansberg said no waivers were requested and offered that the developer would voluntarily continue a prior maintenance commitment related to Highway 22 sight-line clearing.

A written public comment from Doug Kramer, president of the Ballard Glen Community Association, urged the commission not to remove the planned interconnection between Ballard Glen and Ballard Woods and said his neighborhood had not been asked whether it desired removal of the connection. Swansberg and Walt Shum said neighborhood meetings had been held and that the plan was revised following earlier approvals and homeowner input.

Commissioners asked about utilities and septic: engineer Bob VanSant confirmed that lots of 1 acre or greater in Oldham County are designed for standard sanitary septic systems, and the applicants said water connectivity is planned through Ballard Glen to create a loop (a direct connection to Blakemore Lane was not feasible at this time).

Commissioner Davis moved to approve the preliminary subdivision plan, including the binding elements read into the record: (1) approval applies only to the plan presented at the Jan. 28 hearing; (2) no subdivision of any lot into a greater number of lots without planning-commission review; (3) the preliminary plan must comply with all applicable federal, state and county ordinances and requirements at time of construction-plan approval; and (4) Oldham County Board of Education limited development to 28 lots per year. The motion passed on roll-call, 7-0.

Staff noted next steps: the applicant must submit construction plans and comply with required permits; the board-of-education limit on lots per year will be applied during plan/construction reviews.