During their Monday meeting, Delaware City Council approved the annexation of 100 acres of land along Peachblow Road to be brought into the city. The land, which sits directly west of the Belmont Place subdivision, previously was owned by Berlin Township.
The annexation was approved with a 4-1 vote; Councilman George Hellinger was the lone vote against the annexation.
In February, council approved a resolution of services for water, sanitary, refuse, fire, police, and road maintenance services upon the pending acceptance of annexation. The land is located at the very southeast corner of Delaware’s long-existing utility boundary, meaning the property need to be connected to the city’s sewer and water services.
Pending the approval of the annexation, a 263-lot housing development, called “Winterbrooke Place,” had also been proposed by Grden LLC. The preliminary development plan for Winterbrooke Place was also approved Monday with a 4-1 vote.
Under the preliminary development plan, the majority of lots would range from 6,760 to 8,450 square feet, with 21 lots totaling 10,400 square feet. The proposed density of the subdivision, which has become a point of contention with prior developments, would be 2.61 units per acre. The city’s comprehensive plan calls for densities to be between 2.0 and 3.25 units per acre.
The developer is proposing 21 of the lots to be 80 feet by 130 feet, 130 lots at 65 feet by 130 feet, and 112 lots at 52 feet by 130 feet. The design standards of the lots are expected to be consistent with the adjacent communities at Glenross and Belmont Place.
A single access point will be constructed off Peachblow Road and would extend north to connect with Winterbourne Drive coming south from the Communities at Glenross subdivision. A connection west to the Belmont Place subdivision would also be constructed.
There would be 106 of the single-family lots located east of Winterbourne Drive, with 157 located on the west side of the drive.
An existing home at 957 Peachblow Rd. will be straddled by the footprint of the Winterbrooke Place development. Throughout the process, the owners of the home and their real estate attorney have expressed concerns and objections to the Winterbrooke Place development and its impact on their property.
Among the objections have been the lack of buffering between their property and the development, as well as the retention pond that would be constructed directly west of the home. The matter of who would be responsible for the maintenance and up-keeping of the retention pond was also discussed during the June 10 second reading of the preliminary development plan.
Given the size of the pond, a fountain would be required for the proper aeration of the pond. Planning and Community Development Director Dave Efland said the homeowners association would be responsible for the maintenance and upkeeping of the pond.
Ahead of the approval on Monday, Efland detailed a modified proposal that included additional buffering around the Gundling home at 957 Peachblow Rd., as well as around the retention pond that garnered much discussion earlier this month.
Attorney Steve Elliott, who has represented the Gundlings during the process, said they were satisfied with the effort made by both sides to come to an agreement on the buffering.
Councilwoman Lisa Keller, who was among the most vocal on council earlier this month in asking the developer to do more to appease the existing homeowner, said her concerns had been satisfied during the Monday meeting.
