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Heritage Towns at Waddell tabled to Dec. 17 as council seeks road‑safety analysis for narrow Waddell Drive
Summary
Faced with resident concerns and council questions about whether the narrow, substandard Waddell Drive can safely serve additional townhomes, the council agreed to table a 17‑unit Heritage Towns at Waddell application and asked staff and the applicant for vehicle‑tracking/road‑safety options and potential mitigations before returning.
Councilors voted to table the Heritage Towns at Waddell special use permit (SUP‑24‑02) to the December 17 meeting and requested further engineering and roadway analysis focused on Waddell Drive safety.
Planning staff described the proposal as a 17‑unit townhouse project on 1.88 acres in R‑8 composed of three buildings, front‑facing units with rear garages and a private internal drive. The applicant told council the project is designed to present front doors to the street, to include front‑yard fencing and sidewalks, and to replace an aging terracotta sanitary line crossing the site with a modern water/sewer connection. Staff recommended approval with several conditions, including extending the sidewalk to property lines for future connections and screening trash rollouts.
Several councilors and a resident speaker emphasized that Waddell Drive is narrow (about 18 feet in the segment in question), lacks curb and gutter and does not have signalized connections to Brightleaf Boulevard. Resident Pam Lampe said the road is substandard and warned that adding dozens of residents could exacerbate safety and access issues. Councilors asked the applicant to return with vehicle‑tracking demonstrations, a civil‑engineering assessment of options (curb and gutter, sidewalk placement, short‑term traffic controls) and proposed mitigations that would allow safe truck and emergency access on the private internal drive.
Applicant Sam O’Brien and project manager Dan Danvers said they were willing to provide additional analysis, would pursue sanitary line improvements and would work with staff on curb/gutter and sidewalk details. Councilors agreed to table the application to allow staff and the applicant to return with a focused analysis of roadway safety and feasible mitigations.
Next steps: Applicant and staff to present vehicle‑tracking, road‑safety and mitigation options at the Dec. 17 council meeting; the application remains on hold until the follow‑up session.
Sources: Planning staff report, applicant testimony (Sam O’Brien, Dan Danvers), public comment (Pam Lampe).
