Residents press council to keep Ridge Road closed to new Timber Ridge development

President Smith opened the council's discussion after public comment and City Manager Brent Merriman walked council through the competing plans for the Timber Ridge planned unit development.

Brent Merriman, the city manager, summarized the two proposals and the key differences: the developer's revised plan includes no connection to Ridge Road but adds two access points on US 68, a larger buffer zone and higher minimum home sizes; staff supports many of the revisions but said the lack of a full connection to Ridge Road would not conform with the city's land development code and could create fire and utility access problems. "If council elects to go with the revised plan, that's your decision, and we'll adjust to that," Merriman said, while cautioning that approving a nonconforming plan could set an adverse precedent.

Neighbors urged caution. Resident Howard Grama, who said he lives at 2428 Ridge Road, told council the city's modified proposal "basically resurrects last year's proposal" and warned the plan would change the character of the neighborhood. "It's like deja vu all over again," Grama said, asking council to evaluate the developer's plan instead. Resident Mark Smith echoed those concerns and said neither a traffic study nor an engineer's opinion demonstrating the safety of connecting Ridge Road has been presented.

Council members debated options and trade-offs. Vice President Crawford and another council member argued for considering developer-submitted alternatives that include two exits; Merriman and staff noted two points of ingress/egress are commonly required to meet fire and utility looping standards and that utility connections run-in private easements under the revised plan, which can complicate future repairs. Merriman explained that connecting water lines to provide looping is an EPA standard and that service reliability depends on such looped systems.

The ordinance to change the PUD (Ordinance 2026-31) was formally introduced for second reading and public hearing at a future meeting, allowing more time for council to consider revisions and additional analysis. Councilmember Faith formally moved to introduce the ordinance; the introduction was accepted and will return for further review.

Council did not vote on the substance of the PUD change tonight. City staff offered to meet with council members and provide additional information before the next public hearing.