Staff asks council to delay vote on 150 townhomes and a Montessori school near Eldorado and Oak Grove

A plan to put 150 townhomes and a Montessori school on about 21 acres northwest of West Eldorado Parkway and Oak Grove Parkway is on the Town Council's agenda for Tuesday, Oct. 13, but town staff are asking the council to hold off.

The developer changed the site plan after the Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed it, and the revised version "still does not comply with Town standards," according to the staff report. Staff recommend tabling the zoning case, Ordinance No. 1860, until Nov. 3 so engineering and fire officials can review the changes.

What is proposed

The land is four undeveloped lots now zoned Light Commercial, with a single-family subdivision to the west and the town's extraterritorial jurisdiction along the north and east sides. The owner wants a planned development district that keeps light commercial rules on one tract and allows owner-occupied townhomes on the rest.

The first phase would bring an 8,000-square-foot, one-story Montessori school, sized for up to 300 students, and 35 townhomes. A second phase would add 115 more townhomes. The townhome lots would be 25 feet wide with garages reached from rear alleys, and the plan shows a detention pond that holds water plus two open areas with playgrounds and seating.

The request includes several departures from town code:

• reduced landscape buffers along parts of the edge
• street trees every 40 feet on average instead of every 25 feet, and a waiver of tree planting on the property's northern and southern edges
• streets with 50 feet of right-of-way instead of the 62 feet required in the townhome district, and no on-street parking

History of the site

The project started smaller. In 2023 the owner started the zoning process for 42 townhomes on roughly six acres. Two years later the applicant reached an arrangement with the neighboring owner to expand the site to about 21 acres and add the school, and the town had the applicant file a new application.

Staff wrote that the town has usually been wary of daycare and Montessori uses on major roads, to save frontage for retail and offices, but said this school would sit behind a commercial lot on Oak Grove Parkway rather than on the road itself.

What planners said

The Planning and Zoning Commission heard the case June 25. Commissioners discussed how tall the townhomes would be, windows looking toward existing houses, screening, the number of units and traffic. They recommended approval on the condition that the developer add open space to the first phase and build a masonry wall along the whole western edge of the property instead of an open wrought-iron fence.

The council meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 100 W. Eldorado Parkway, and the item is listed with a public hearing.

Sources

destinyhosted.com

destinyhosted.com