Broken Arrow City Council
Meeting of: 09-19-2023
Title:
title
Consideration, discussion, and possible approval regarding PT20-115, conditional final plat, Estates at Lynn Lane Blocks 1 - 6, 38.28 acres, 122 Lots, R-2 to PUD-315/RS-3, located one-quarter mile north of New Orleans Street (101st Street), east of 9th Street (177th E. Avenue/Lynn Lane Road)
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Background:
PT20-115, the conditional final plat for the Estates at Lynn Lane Block 1 - 6, contains 38.28 acres with 122 proposed lots. This is the first phase of this project. The property, which is presently zoned R-2, is located one-quarter mile north of New Orleans Street (101st Street), east of 9th Street (177th E. Avenue/Lynn Lane Road). The preliminary plat, which showed 255 lots on 68.30 acres, was reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission on October 22, 2020, subject to the attached checklist.
Since the property associated with the Estates at Lynn Lane Blocks 1 - 6 was annexed in 1983, there have been four rezoning requests (BAZ 901, BAZ 961, BAZ 1786, and BAZ-1984), two PUD requests (PUD 38 and PUD-315), and a decree by District Court (Case No. C-83-3081). On April 12, 1983, an application (BAZ 901) was made to change the zoning on this property from A-1 to R-3. The Planning Commission reviewed this application on May 12, 1983, and recommended denial of R-3 zoning, but recommended approval of R-2 zoning. On May 16, 1983, the City Council further modified the request and approved R-1 zoning designation only. Ordinance 1105, which changed the zoning on the property from A-1 to R-1, was approved by the City Council on June 6, 1983.
On July 14, 1983, a Planned Unit Development (PUD-38), Silver Ridge Park, was submitted to accommodate approximately 202 single-family units and a 13.30-acre open space for the area associated with BAZ 901. With PUD 38, the underlying zoning was requested to be R-1. The Planning Commission recommended approval of PUD 38 with several conditions; however, the City Council denied this request in their meeting of July 18, 1983. Applicant requested that their application be reheard by the City Council. PUD-38 was denied again by the City Council on September 6, 1983.
On February 27, 1984, an application (BAZ 961) was filed to change the zoning on the property from R-1 to R-2. This rezoning request was reviewed and denied by the Planning Commission on March 22, 1984.
In the Staff report for BAZ 961, it was noted that a lawsuit had been filed against the City of Broken Arrow regarding the denial of R-2 zoning and PUD 38. The hearing was scheduled to occur on April 12, 1984.
In District Court, it is was ruled with Case No. C-83-3081 that the zoning on the property should be R-2. On July 16, 1984, the City Council approved Ordinance 1257 to change the zoning on the property from R-1 to R-2.
On October 8, 2007, an application (BAZ 1786) was made to change the zoning on the property from R-2 to RS-2. This application was approved by the City Council on December 3, 2007, subject to the property being platted. The property has not been platted. As a result, the zoning remains R-2.
On October 3, 2017, BAZ-1984, a request to change the zoning on this property from R-2 to RS-3 was approved by the City Council. BAZ-1984 was approved subject to the property being platted. The property has not been platted, so the zoning today remains R-2.
On September 15, 2020, the City Council approved PUD-315 on the property associated with this conditional final plat. With PUD-315, applicant requested to keep the RS-3 zoning classification approved with BAZ-1984 and add PUD-315 as an overlay. PUD-315 was approved subject to the property being platted. The preliminary plat, which showed 255 lots on 68.30 acres, was approved by the Planning Commission on October 22, 2020, subject to an attached checklist.
With PUD-315, the minimum lot width was reduced from 60 feet to 55 feet, minimum lot size was reduced from 7,000 square feet to 6,500 square feet, and on lots with no vehicular access, the building line setback was established at 20 feet. PUD-315, however, also stipulated that at least 60% of the lots within the PUD would meet the minimum lot size, lot width, and building setback requirements of the RS-3 district. PUD-315 also required a 10-foot wide landscape reserve area adjacent to 9th Street.
The primary access to the property will be from 9th Street. There are also four streets (S. 13th Street, S. 16th Street, E. 96th Street, and E. Jacksonville Place) that stub into the property. These stub streets are intended to be connected in accordance with Comprehensive Plan policy M15. S. 13th Street and S. 16th Street are part of the Washington Lane addition to the north, which is part of PUD-135 and subsequent amendments. The Concept Plan for PUD-135 showed two streets connecting to the south boundary of the property. In addition, PUD-135 proposed to have a pedestrian trail system along the south and east boundaries of Washington Lane. When Washington Lane II was platted, it showed a 20-foot wide Reserve Area between the south property line and S. 13th Street. When Washington Lane IV was platted, S. 16th Street was shown to extend to the south property line. The preliminary plat for Washington Lane IV had initially shown a 20-foot wide unplatted area along the south boundary. In a June 14, 2005, letter, the developer stated, “Our intentions were to plat these areas with a later phase to ensure the timing of developing in these areas (e.g. trail systems) would be by the developer’s timing and not as directed by the City of Broken Arrow.” They subsequently agreed to extend the street right-of-way to the south property line. As a result, S. 16th Street extends to the south property, but there is a 20-foot wide gap between the property line and the street right-of-way on S. 13th Street. The right-of-way for 13th Street for the Estates at Lynn Lane is shown to extend to the north property line.
When BAZ-1984 was being heard by the Planning Commission on September 14, 2017, residents on S. 96th Street expressed concern about connections being made to their street. Their street, which is straight for a half mile, was constructed in Tulsa County prior to being annexed into the City Limits of Broken Arrow. S. 96th Street presently serves a large lot single family detached neighborhood. If connected, S. 96th Street would be a half mile straight thoroughfare for residents in the addition associated with this PUD as well as the Washington Lane addition to the north. The Planning Commission had acknowledged that when the plat associated with BAZ-1984 was submitted they would look at limiting access to E. 96th Street. With PUD-315, applicant has stated that the connection to E. 96th Street will be gated if permitted by the Broken Arrow Fire Code and will be used only during emergencies.
Ninth Street is proposed to be expanded as part of the 2018 GO Bond package. The design to widen Ninth Street is expected to be done in 2023, right-of-way acquisition occurring in 2024, and construction occurring in 2025. When the City Council approved PUD-315, they requested that a traffic study be conducted. A traffic study was prepared by Ernest J. Peters, a registered professional engineer, and is included with this Staff report. This report concluded, “The maximum number of vehicles projected to turn right into the site from S. Lynn Lane Road at Gary Place is below the 100 vehicle criteria for the AM, school PM and PM peak hours. There are no sight distance issues at the proposed new street location and capacity and LOS (level of service) results indicate this proposed new street intersect is expected to operate satisfactorily without the addition of a deceleration lane.” City Staff noted that the traffic study showed 95 turns, only five short of the 100 right turn threshold. In addition, Staff noted that the traffic study did not consider the new Washington Lane 8 subdivision under construction on the west of 9th Street. Furthermore, it did not take into account the possibility of vehicles from the existing Washington Lane subdivisions turning into this new subdivision to obtain access to their property. Consequently, it is Staff’s opinion that inclusion of the deceleration land would be a prudent decision at this time. According to the minutes from the September 15, 2020, City Council meeting, the attorney for the applicant stated he was willing to commit to constructing a deceleration lane along 9th Street into the development. He stated this would be done even without a traffic study if requested by City Engineering. The Engineering and Construction Department has requested that the deceleration lane be provided.
When PUD-315 was approved, the City Council also requested that surrounding property owners be notified when the plat moved forward. Notices were sent on August 4, 2021, notifying surrounding property owners of the conditional final plat being reviewed by the Planning Commission on August 26, 2021. Surrounding property owners were also notified when the preliminary plat was reviewed by the Planning Commission.
Water and sanitary sewer service will be provided by the City of Broken Arrow. According to the FEMA maps, a portion of the property is in the 100-year floodplain of the West Branch of Broken Arrow Creek. There is a pond and a drainage channel that passes through the southwest corner of the property. According to the topographic information provided by the applicant, most of the property drains into this existing pond. This area is shown on the conditional final plat as Reserve C and contains an overland drainage easement. The existing pond will be converted into a stormwater detention facility for the Estates at Lynn Lane. The engineering plans show three bio filters to be installed upstream of the proposed stormwater detention facility. According to the covenants, the maintenance of Reserve C is the responsibility of the owner of the lot.
PT20-115, the conditional final plat for the Estates at Lynn Lane, was reviewed by the Planning Commission on August 26, 2021. Staff had recommended that the conditional final plat be approved subject to the attached checklist. Three people spoke at the Planning Commission meeting expressing their concerns regarding the following items:
• There is existing pond to the southwest of the pond on the property associated with the Estates at Lynn Lane property. The property owner of the pond to the southwest commented that their pond was constructed in the 1960’s. He expressed concern that the additional stormwater runoff from the development associated with the Estates at Lynn Lane could cause the dam on their pond to fail. Also, concerned about the ecological impacts (pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers) on their pond along with trash and debris settling into their pond.
• A desire was expressed for a fence to be installed along the north and east sides of the abutting church along with the south portion of the proposed subdivision to discourage any children in the surrounding neighborhoods from fishing in their private pond. (Planning Commission noted that a fence could not be installed in any floodplain area. Applicant commented they are willing to construct a fence around the reserve area where it abutted other properties outside the development. The fence will be designed not to impede water flow. Applicant noted that each individual owner of a residential lot that backed up to the church would install a fence on the back of their property.)
• A 404 permit from the Corps of Engineers should be required. (It was the opinion of the applicant for the new subdivision that the pond on their property is not a jurisdictional wetland, and as a result they have not submitted a request for 404 permit.)
• Who is going to monitor water quality in their existing pond to the southwest of the proposed subdivision?
• The dam on the existing pond on the Estates at Lynn Lane parcel has been breached previously.
• The new subdivision will be responsible for maintaining the proposed stormwater detention facility in Reserve A. Will the proposed homeowners association be able to accomplish this? Conversations with the presidents of homeowners associations in similar neighborhoods had commented that they had trouble collecting the required homeowner association dues.
A copy of the Staff report was provided to the applicant on Wednesday, August 25, 2021. Just prior to the Planning Commission meeting starting, applicant asked that the plat be removed from the consent agenda. They acknowledged they agreed with all the items on the checklist except for item 24. The conditional final plat for the Estates at Lynn Lane was pulled from the consent agenda. Staff reported to the Planning Commission that the applicant agreed with the Staff report but wanted item 24 removed from the checklist. Staff acknowledged they were in agreement with this request.
After reviewing the information presented in the Staff report, the Planning Commission recommended approval (5-0) of PT20-115 as per Staff recommendation (comment 24 deleted from the checklist), and with the condition that City Staff review the definition of the adjacent wetlands determination and follow up on if the location of this development qualifies for the definition of being an adjacent wetland, and if it will affect the requirements of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, as part of the engineering plan review, Staff is requesting that a decel lane be constructed by the applicant on Ninth Street for right-turn movements into the Estates at Lynn Lane.
This item was considered by the City Council on September 21, 2021, but was continued due to engineering plans being incomplete. The engineering plans were accepted by Staff with no exceptions taken on October 26, 2022.
Cost: $0
Funding Source: None
Requested By: Kevin Maevers, Community Development Director
Approved By: City Manager’s Office
Attachments: Published Planning Commission staff report.08-26-2021
Checklist
Conditional final plat submitted 08-02-2023
Approved PUD-315 design statement
Google Earth Aerial Photo
Traffic study prepared by Ernest J. Peters
PUD-135 Washington Lane approved design statement
Washington Lane II recorded plat
Washington Lane IV recorded plat
Washington Lane IV preliminary plat.05-20-2005
Washington Lane IV preliminary plat.06-24-2005
Letter from Eric Anderson.06-14-2005
Letter from Eric Anderson.06-27-2005
Comprehensive Plan Policy M15
Conditional final plat notice sent to surrounding property owners
Excerpt from September 15, 2020, City Council minutes pertaining to PUD-315
Excerpt from October 22, 2020, Planning Commission meeting
TAC meeting notes prepared by the applicant
Recommendation:
recommend
Approve PT20-115, the conditional final plat for the Estates at Lynn Lane as per Planning Commission and Staff recommendation.
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