Planning Commission recommends council approve Arden Glen amendment to add 19 single‑family lots and revised preliminary plat

The Verona Planning Commission on Feb. 2 recommended that the Common Council approve a plan development amendment to add 19 single‑family lots to the Arden Glen subdivision and approved a substitute preliminary plat to modify the subdivision to 425 lots with 34 outlots.

City staff told the commission the amendment would reconfigure six blocks within the existing planned development, introduce private alleys where lot widths drop below 50 feet, and create the additional lots without changing public right‑of‑way. Staff said the proposed lot sizes were included in prior approvals, that no new lot‑size exemptions were required, and that a development agreement and an updated phasing plan will be needed. Staff recommended approval with the conditions listed in the staff report.

During public comment several nearby residents urged denial or closer scrutiny, saying the extra units would worsen traffic on Shady Oak Lane and Rolling Meadow Road, increase stormwater and lighting impacts, and represent incremental “scope creep” on a large development. Jo Tucker, who lives across from the subdivision on Shady Oak Lane, asked why a previously approved final plat can be amended and urged the commission to deny the change or seek clearer answers on traffic, stormwater, lighting, and tree planting.

Reading Homes’ representative Brian Munson said the amendment is a remapping exercise to rebalance house types and price points and that the developer is not changing public rights‑of‑way or the previously approved standards. He said playground equipment and a restroom have already been installed in the neighborhood park and that other park elements remain planned for later phases.

Commissioners and staff discussed traffic mitigation and lighting enforcement. City staff noted a traffic analysis identified needed turn lanes and said road reconstruction on Shady Oak will be required as part of the development agreement; staff also described the city’s lighting standard (0.4 foot‑candle at the property line) and said shielded, downward fixtures are required to minimize glare. Commissioners expressed divergent views: some emphasized the value of adding single‑family housing and variety to the city’s supply, while others urged caution about permitting incremental increases to previously approved unit counts and asked developers to commit to better lighting and park delivery.

Alder Swanson moved the approval with a list of conditions and specified exemptions (changes to minimum lot area and width, setbacks, paved surface setbacks, maximum lot coverage, garage setback distances, and others). The motion passed on a voice vote. Later the commission considered the preliminary plat and, after clarifying the number of outlots, passed a substitute motion recommending approval of a preliminary plat to create 425 lots and 34 outlots; conditions include that the preliminary plat becomes effective upon execution of a development agreement and private alleys be labeled as fire lanes on the final plat.

The recommendations are advisory; the Common Council will consider the amendment, preliminary plat and development agreement in future meetings.