Plain City Council unanimously approved a zoning text and development plan amendment for Subarea D of the Darby Station residential development, pictured above. Subarea D, which sits on 30.6 acres of the 335.83-acre development along Route 161, is marketed toward “empty nesters.”
(Graphic submitted)
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A request to modify a portion of the plans for Darby Station prompted residents to speak out about a piece of the development separate from the application – the new roundabout on Route 161.
“It’s like putting 20 pounds of potatoes in a 10-pound bag. It just doesn’t work,” said Fred Yoder, a local farmer.
Josh Barkan with M/I Homes was before Plain City Council Monday to request a zoning text and development plan amendment for Subarea D of Darby Station.
The preliminary plan for the development, which will be constructed on 335.83 acres along Route 161, was approved in November 2020. The plan calls for six different subareas, which each accommodate a different type of housing or open space.
Barkan explained that Darby Station is intended to have options for first-time home buyers, those upgrading their starter homes and “empty nesters” who are downsizing.
Subarea D, which consists of 30.6 acres on the eastern part of the development, calls for “clustered detached condominium homes,” according to a memo from Village Planner Taylor Brill.
Barkan said homes marketed toward empty nesters were “the only area of our business to struggle” over the past several years. He said some couples hoping to downsize “balked” at the idea of purchasing a $500,000 condo when they lived in a $350,000 house.
He said the amendment is “density neutral” because it will keep the number of units at 88, but will change the layout.
“Really, we’re just trying to hit this market (empty nesters) in a slightly different way,” Barkan said.
Aside from the changed layout, one of the adjustments is a change from the one- or one-and-a-half-story requirement to a maximum building height of 35 feet. Brill said the height requirement in this subarea now matches that for the rest of the development.
She added that the change allows for a different type of product which M/I Homes refers to as “ranch style” homes.
Rather than a “block style pattern,” the “new site plan contains two street networks around two different cul-de-sacs,” Brill wrote in the memo.
Council was in agreement with the planning and zoning commission’s recommendation to approve the request.
“I actually think it looks nicer,” said Council President Michael Terry, who also noted “they’re not asking for more homes.”
The plan indicates the changes will result in an additional 2.5 acres of open space.
While council did not share any concerns surrounding the zoning text and development plan at issue, the public hearing veered toward a point of contention in the community.
“I want to address your roundabout because it’s an absolute disaster,” Yoder said.
Yoder said he does not have a problem with the angle of the roundabout, which is currently under construction on Route 161 at the future entrance of Darby Station, but the height of the curb.
He said his farm equipment scrapes the curbs surrounding the roundabout when he attempts to pass through. Yoder told council he feels the lanes need to be widened or the size of the roundabout needs to be increased to two lanes.
Council member Jim Eudaily, who is also a civil engineer, said the lanes in the roundabout are already larger than usual. He noted that they are designed so that semi-trucks can go over the berm.
He said he could not say why the engineers for the project would not have considered farm equipment as well, as he always accounts for the type of traffic that may come from the surrounding area.
Council member John Rucker said the design was ultimately approved by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and “we have no say.”
Brill explained following the meeting that a traffic study for the development indicated there was a need for “some type of traffic control” at the intersection. Rather than a traffic signal, council members preferred a roundabout.
However, she said the design of the one-lane roundabout was dictated through a traffic study, based on standards in place from ODOT. The actual design of the roundabout did not come before council for review or approval.
Brill added that there was “ample right-of-way acquisition” so the current roundabout could be expanded to add a concentric circle, if future traffic studies dictate the need.
Rucker agreed with Yoder’s complaints and said he believes much of the community feels the same.
“You’re absolutely correct,” Rucker said.
Council President Michael Terry said he has heard similar comments from his father-in-law, who is also a farmer. While he said he trusts Yoder’s evaluation of the roundabout, he said council does not have enough information to act on the issue at the moment.
Terry said he would like village administration to do more research with the goal of addressing the topic once more at council’s next regular meeting at 6 p.m. July 25.
Yoder urged council to act to alter the design of the roundabout before it is completed.
“I just really hope council could be more supportive of the agricultural community,” he said.