Matt Banes, a representative of Dreesholm, told the South Lebanon City Council at a Dec. 11 special meeting that his company seeks a zoning map amendment to reclassify parcels along Zoor Road from R-1 to R-3 to allow primarily single-family detached homes. "First off, my name is Matt Banes with Dreesholm," Banes said as he opened his presentation and described completed due diligence including a title search, geotechnical work, stream and wetland surveys and cultural surveys on the site.

Banes said the annexation for the property was accepted by the city Sept. 18 and that the rezoning request follows the annexation process. He described a concept that would include 60-foot and 65-foot lots and that the developer is considering increasing many lots to 85 feet after consultation with the King School District. "We're just looking at this rezoning," Banes said, noting the council was being asked to consider the map amendment rather than a final site plan.

On housing and market expectations, Banes said patio homes on 60-foot lots would typically be marketed to empty nesters and that those units tend to be narrower than the lots ("our patio homes are usually about 40 feet wide"). He estimated home prices in the community would generally fall in a broad range of about $400,000 to $700,000, with some river-view lots likely to sell for more.

Traffic and circulation were the primary operational topics raised by council members. Banes said a traffic study projecting conditions to 2036 found sight distances and projected volumes at the proposed entrances were adequate and did not require turn lanes under baseline assumptions, but the developer proposed to "go kind of above and beyond and commit[] to adding a left turn lane into the development" to smooth a curve on Zoor Road and relocate an existing driveway into the internal street system.

A council member who said they live on Zoor Road asked whether a roundabout might be preferable; Banes responded that roundabouts are expensive, could be excessive for this site and that the left-turn lane and entrance reconfiguration were the preferred mitigation measures.

Banes said the project would rely on the South Lebanon River Corridor sewer project to provide sewer capacity, and that timing for that municipal project is uncertain; he said the developer would likely time construction to align with sewer improvements. He also said water is available along the road frontage and that the plan protects floodplain and stream areas adjacent to the Little Miami River.

A planning commission voted 3-1 to recommend approval of the map amendment on Oct. 23, 2025, and the council had published notice for the Dec. 11 hearing. Council did not vote on the rezoning during the special meeting; the first reading for the related text amendment is scheduled for Dec. 18, 2025, per the council's published schedule.

Clarifying details from the presentation: the agenda and several remarks list the total area as 156.019 acres, while at other points the presenter referred to 159.277 acres; both figures were stated on the record. The developer said the traffic study projects to 2036, the annexation was accepted Sept. 18, and the sewer capacity depends on the South Lebanon River Corridor project.

The council did not take final action on the rezoning at the Dec. 11 hearing; the record shows continued coordination between the developer, the King School District and Little Miami School District and a developer commitment to a left-turn lane and driveway reconfiguration as mitigation steps.