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Commission approves Stony Creek Acres preliminary plat with sewer contingency and roll-curb waiver
Summary
After presentations and discussion about traffic, utilities and design, the Berea Planning Commission approved the Stony Creek Acres preliminary plat and construction plans subject to final sewer approval and granted a waiver for roll curbs.
The Berea Planning Commission on Feb. 10 approved the preliminary plat and construction plans for Stony Creek Acres, a New Idea Homes and Construction subdivision, contingent on final sewer acceptance and with a granted waiver for roll curbs.
Apex Engineering’s Dwayne Wheatley, representing New Idea Construction, said the proposal uses roughly 43 of the property’s 115 acres and would include about 135 new lots. Wheatley and the developer described efforts to avoid mapped streams and floodplains; maps presented at the meeting showed flood-hatched areas and a large retention basin in the southeast portion of the site.
Amanda and staff reviewed the project’s history: Stony Creek was approved as a planned-unit development in the early 2000s with phased build-out originally projected at about 500 homes. Since roughly three years ago, staff and the developer have evaluated remaining lands for additional phases. Staff cited a 2023 traffic study by Prime AE (which modeled build-out scenarios up to 900 homes through 2034) and a 2025 update by Vision Engineering. Commissioners discussed connectivity and public-safety access; staff reported that an emergency connector road to Crestview Drive has received U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval and that the approved plans include an emergency crash gate, with possible county discussions to alter use in the future.
Questions focused on utilities and capacity. Amanda said Berea Municipal Utilities and staff have run hydraulic and pump-station evaluations and that the system has capacity for the scenarios studied. The developer, Bill Short, said the project team and utilities had agreed on upgrades and that a water meter replacement already purchased would cost roughly $60,000 to install. The project also envisions a low-pressure force-main sewer arrangement under review by Berea Utilities; staff said final sewer design approval was expected imminently and that the preliminary approval could be contingent on that final acceptance.
Commissioners discussed construction impacts to existing streets and the potential for bonding to protect city infrastructure. Staff noted that bonds typically accompany final plats and that the commission could request bonding for specific road sections at the appropriate stage.
After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the preliminary plat and construction plans contingent on final sewer approval and granting the waiver for roll curbs. The motion was seconded by Mr. Barnett and passed by voice vote with no opposition.
Next steps: staff will confirm final sewer acceptance and document the roll-curb waiver and any conditions in the recorded approvals before permitting construction.
