Boone County residents showed up in droves to question a prospective suburban development near the Westbrook Estates subdivision in Union.
Edgewood-based homebuilder, Arlinghaus Builders, has requested a complex zoning map amendment and concept development plan change for five adjoining zoning tracts within the City of Union and Boone County. If the commission ultimately approves the request, 419 single-family lots will be developed across 135 acres of the project site.
Arlinghaus outlined its plan at a public hearing before the Boone County Planning Commission on Oct. 15 in front of a large audience.
The request involves revising the concept development plan for a six-acre tract at the end of Westfield Lane, or area A, rezoning two smaller parcels, two acres and seven acres known as areas C and D, from Rural Suburban Estates to Agricultural Estate with a Union Town Overlay, and approving a new concept development plan covering approximately 119 acres across areas B, C, D and E.
Basically, the proposal combines the various zoning areas into two distinct, all-residential subdivisions: Westbrook Estates, which will include 178 single-family homes, and West Ridge, with 241 single-family homes.
“When you wash it all down, they’re (Arlinghaus) trying to clean all this up, present a plan for the new land they bought and different roads are putting in and all that,” Planning Commission Chairman Charlie Rolfsen said.
Currently, Westbrook Estates already exists and is located off Old Union Road. Arlinghaus plans to build the newly proposed West Ridge subdivision on the farmland located to the southeast of Westbrook Estates.
Bob Schroder, vice president of Arlinghaus Builders, said he believed the concept plan fits within Boone County’s concept development plan.
“We think that this fits with the existing plans and approvals,” he said. “We think it fits with the Comprehensive Plan, the Union Town Plan.”
Additionally, Schroder clarified that the Allora Event Center would not be part of the development. The center was proposed just north of Hathaway Road–in the same area as Arlinghaus’ proposed subdivision–but was rejected by the planning commission and Union City Commission.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, nearby residents raised concerns over how the proposed development would impact traffic in the area.
Resident Charlotte Curtis mentioned that although she recognized the area’s growth, she emphasized the importance of safe roads.
“It’s not just Old Union Road – it is all of Hathaway Road, and all the traffic, and nobody abides by the speed limit; they go very fast on that road,” she said. “Anyone that lives off of Hathaway, I feel sorry for them, because it’s no longer a nice, beautiful country road. The traffic is just horrid.”
Boone County Zoning Administrator Michael Schwartz mentioned that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to conduct a traffic study because the proposed West Ridge subdivision would connect to Hathaway Road.
The next step for the request is for it to be heard by the planning commission’s zone change committee. Its next meeting will be held on Oct. 29. After that, the request will be heard in front of the full planning commission at a later date.
This story originally appeared on WCPO 9's news partner Link NKY's site.
