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Planning commission grants preliminary approval for Bexley Trace Unit 1 after technical review
Summary
The commission granted preliminary approval for Unit 1 of the Bexley Trace subdivision after a detailed presentation covering lot mix (~221 lots), subsurface drainage, sidewalks, utilities and DOTD traffic improvements; staff will require construction plans and DOTD approvals before final plat.
The De Soto Parish Planning Commission voted to grant preliminary approval for Unit 1 of the Bexley Trace subdivision after a detailed presentation by engineer Ryan Estus of Railian Associates and extended technical discussion with parish staff.
Estus said the master plan for Bexley Trace includes about 221 lots with varying widths (50–70 feet) and an average house size he estimated at roughly 1,700 square feet. He described planned infrastructure as asphalt curb‑and‑gutter streets, subsurface storm drainage with wet detention ponds, a community sewer treatment location near lot 28, and water service identified in the record as the North Dakota Water System. “We’re asking for conceptual approval of unit number one, which allows me to go forward with construction plans,” Estus told the commission.
Commissioners probed several technical issues: the developer’s use of hammerhead (T) turnarounds instead of cul‑de‑sacs, sidewalk placement and maintenance responsibilities, sewer ownership and repair obligations, cluster mailbox placement required by postal rules, and coordination with the nearby town of Stonewall on jurisdiction and maintenance where the master plan abuts the town’s corporate limits.
On drainage and traffic, Estus said existing DOTD studies were updated and DOTD requested immediate striping changes at Marketplace Drive to provide dedicated right‑out and left‑out lanes at the subdivision entrance. “DOTD wanted us to put in the improvements required on phase one…a dedicated right out and left out lane,” he said.
After commissioners reviewed the engineering and administrative issues, one commissioner moved to grant preliminary approval for Unit 1; the motion was seconded and approved. Staff and the developer will return with detailed construction and drainage plans, final plat corrections (one numeric lot label conflict was noted on the master plan), and any required DOTD approvals before final platting.
The commission also asked staff to coordinate with Stonewall on possible maintenance agreements or cooperative arrangements for road segments that cross jurisdictional boundaries. The planner and parish engineer said they will provide construction‑level geometry, turning‑movement exhibits and final engineering calculations at the construction‑plan review stage.
