Council approves Heritage Land and Development rezone to R-1-8; motion passes 4-1

River Heights City Council approved a rezone request from Heritage Land and Development, changing a property (three adjacent parcels, two already zoned R-1-8 and one Agricultural) to R-1-8. The planning commission had recommended the rezone by a 4-1 vote; council approval on second reading (or ordinance) passed 4 to 1 at the Feb. 13 meeting.

Representatives for Heritage recounted a multi-year engagement with the city, including earlier PUD discussions tied to a 2021 master plan that contemplated an RPUD and potential state funding intended to keep some houses under $450,000. After public comment opposing higher-density PUD plans, Heritage applied for an R-1-8 rezone. The developer submitted a traffic study and a sketch plan showing about 41 lots (16 at ~8,000 sq ft and an average lot size of roughly 13,211 sq ft in the sketch). Council and staff discussed one emergency egress through a church parking lot, county control over access on 600 East, potential pavement/turn-lane mitigation and that any final plat and subdivision approval would address stormwater, lot configuration and emergency access requirements.

City staff and the engineer noted that the sketch is illustrative and lot counts will be finalized during the subdivision review. The council approved the rezone 4-1 and directed staff to update zoning and land-use maps accordingly.