By Sarah Brown
Lebanon Local
The Planning Commission approved a 26-lot subdivision on 3.98 acres at the northeast corner of Franklin Street and Russell Drive at its Feb. 16 meeting.
This subdivision would feature single-family or duplex units on each lot, with a new public-access roadway from Franklin. Four lots would feature frontage off that street, with another four off Russell. Two lots would share a driveway.
Commissioner Lory Gerig-Knurowski said several new developments in the Airport Road/Russell Drive area may raise traffic-related concerns for its residents. Although individual traffic impact analyses (TIAs) may have been completed on most or all of the other projects, she asked, at what point does the aggregate of those developments trigger worries for the city?
Community Development Director Kelly Hart replied that the city could address that issue by considering the proposed development’s cumulative impact.
An apartment complex was recently completed at the northwest corner of Franklin and Russell, with another being built to the south. Those developments had TIAs, and a turn lane on Franklin was recommended to mitigate traffic. As such, Hart said, anticipated flow has been addressed, and with the exception of a four-way stop, no further mitigation can be done.
Other nearby developments in progress include an apartment complex and brewery to the subject property’s west, as well as a subdivision to the southeast, next to the Lebanon water treatment plant.
In other business, the commission approved the annexation of nearly 80 acres southeast of Stoltz Hill Road and Vaughan Lane, zoned residential mixed density.
A letter of opposition from bordering property owners Daniel and Deborah Kloss stated that the annexation would impact the neighborhood’s rural setting. They cited traffic and pedestrian issues, as well as hindering the abilities of such city services as police, fire and public works departments to handle increased development.
According to Hart, another letter of opposition with several signatures was received the day before the meeting, expressing concerns about comprehensive plan changes, future rezoning and environmental impacts.
“At this point in time the City has not had any conversations with the property owner in terms of intended development, so the review of this application is strictly related to the annexation of the parcel,” she said. However, the landowner is within their rights to submit applications for rezoning in the future.