ALEXANDRIA, Ky. — Plans to build 77 new single-family homes on Riley Road moved forward on Tuesday despite resident concerns over traffic, wildlife and density.
Drees Homes is looking to build a subdivision on approximately 37 acres on Riley Road, north of Apple Blossom Lane in Alexandria. At a June 17 meeting, the Alexandria Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the stage one development plan.
The homes are all intended to be single-family. The site is currently zoned residential, and the developer is proposing to apply a residential conservation development for the design.
The plans include open space areas, including a pocket park and walking trails. Drees Homes anticipates 30-plus percent green space within the development.
“We’re excited when we found a piece of land and talked to the owner to find a piece that fits the underlying zoning, fits the comprehensive plan, and really matches what we see as demand for the area,” Matt Mains, a development manager with Drees Homes, said. “Kind of a perfect fit.”
Regarding a development timeline, Mains said the company is a build-to-order builder offering lots for sale. It develops the lot, and then the customer chooses the footprint and style of the house.
Mains said they anticipate doing the project in two to three phases. The first phase will start up the first straight cul-de-sac (far left cul-de-sac on the site plan).
He said they anticipate starting development over the winter and paving next spring for the first phase. Subsequent phases would be based on demand. Mains estimated the entire project to take roughly five years. The homes will be 2,000 to 3,500 square feet and range from $360,000 to $550,000.
Numerous residents spoke at the meeting, naming concerns about traffic and conditions on Riley Road, including the amount of tractor-trailer traffic on the road.
Riley Road resident Dean Hedger said he has lived in Alexandria for 55 years and grew up on Apple Blossom Lane.
“My biggest concern is the road, because roads are falling in,” Hedger said. “The truck traffic is horrendous. We’re talking about tractor-trailers coming up the road; they are tremendous. You’re not going to stop building. It’s not going to happen, but do whatever it takes to make it better for people that do live here.”
Alexandria Mayor Andy Schabell said during the meeting that he has vowed to work with two Camp Springs residents spearheading an effort to ban tractor-trailers on KY Route 547 or Riley Road. Shabell said he, along with the council and the two residents, has the support of Senator Shelley Funke Frommeyer, a Republican from Alexandria, and Representative Mike Clines, a Republican from Alexandria, to petition the state.
“We’re doing everything we can, and I vowed to those gentlemen who have been to two of our council meetings that I will do everything I can to support them, and I believe we have the full support of our city council on that as well,” Shabell said.
Read more about those residents’ efforts here.
Apple Blossom Lane resident Mary Runyon spoke at the meeting, stating concerns about wildlife displacement.
“I like the deer. I like my hummingbirds. I like my squirrels. I like my raccoons. Pretty soon, there’s not going to be a tree in Alexandria for a bird to build a nest in,” Runyon said.
The proposal has 60-foot lot widths, with 2.1 dwelling units per acre. Riley Road resident Ryan Hill criticized the number of homes and the proposed lot sizes. Hill said the 13 to 14 houses with their backs turned to the road would make Riley Road look like “an alleyway.”
“Your city emblem, ‘Where the city meets the country,’ you should change it to ‘Where the city eats the country,’” Hill said.
Mains said not everyone will agree with the development, and not everyone will necessarily want to live in it.
“It’s not for everyone to live in,” he said. “There’s a severe housing shortage in Northern Kentucky, in this area, in the county, and so this gives us the ability to maximize the potential of the land, put the houses on, make them more affordable.”
Earlier in June, the Alexandria Planning and Zoning Commission approved a 46-lot subdivision by D.R. Horton, Inc. on 31 acres at 1671 Grandview Road.
The site plans also include a fence along Riley Road. The developer requested a variance to make the fence four feet, but that was denied; therefore, it will be three feet or 36 inches.
Along with the approval for the site plan, the commission requires the developer to create breaks in the three-foot fence for wildlife to pass through, extend sidewalks on the outskirts of the project down Riley Road and cut back vegetation for any line-of-sight issues along the development.
Some of the planning and zoning commissioners said during the meeting that they would like to deny the subdivision development, but it legally meets the zoning requirements and the city’s comprehensive plan.
“I’d love to be able to confidently say no to this in some way, just because I feel like the more and more developments that we’re getting, I’m realizing that there may be something we revisit in our comprehensive plan,” Commissioner Sam Ruebusch said.
This story originally appeared on our partner's website LINK nky.
