Planning commission recommends approval of limited Homestead setback reduction near golf-course open space

The Midway City Planning Commission voted to recommend a narrowly framed amendment to the city's land-use code that would allow structures in the Homestead resort master plan that directly adjoin dedicated golf-course open space to have a minimum peripheral setback of 10 feet, instead of the usual 100 feet, under limited conditions.

Staff told the commission the change, proposed by Berg Engineering on behalf of Homestead Group LLC, is tailored to a small number of building sites inside the Homestead master plan and would apply only where parcels are plat-dedicated as golf-course open space. "There's not too many resort master plans in Midway; the only one this affects is the Homestead," a city planner said during the presentation, adding that roughly seven buildings might be able to take advantage of the new standard.

Supporters, including the project representative, said the reduced setback would address grade and access issues and produce a better product without increasing building footprints. "We're not looking for bigger homes," the Homestead representative said. He said modestly longer driveways and staggered building pads would reduce excavation and work better with existing contours and floodplain constraints.

Opponents and some commissioners raised design and open-space concerns. One commissioner argued a drop from 30 feet (as previously vested in parts of the Homestead) to 10 feet was a significant reduction in green-space corridors and said the city should guard against incremental loss of open space. A resident who identified himself as an HOA representative for the adjacent Links development emphasized that the golf course is held under a permanent open-space easement and asked commissioners to be mindful of the easement's conditions.

During the public hearing, the applicant said the Links HOA had been consulted and that the change was not intended to increase house sizes but to better fit the buildings into the landform. Staff noted conditions and findings the commission could require, including limiting the exception to structures in an approved resort master plan that abut dedicated golf-course open space and retaining a 10-foot public-utility easement space.

After discussion a commissioner moved to recommend approval of the code-text amendment, including a motion note that the size of structures should not be increased; the motion was seconded and the commission carried the recommendation. The commission's recommendation will go to the Midway City Council, which has the authority to adopt or modify the ordinance.

The commission did not adopt an explicit citywide change to golf-course-open-space easements and staff emphasized the amendment's narrow applicability to the Homestead master-plan parcels that meet the criteria. The city planner said preliminary and final plat review would still be required for any later building permits and that any change in building square footage would be addressed in those subsequent reviews.