Nearly six years after approving an Amended Preliminary Plat for section three of the Springer Woods subdivision, Delaware City Council again passed an amended plan for the final section during its year-end meeting Dec. 19.
Development of Springer Woods began nearly 20 years ago when the Delaware Planning Commission approved a Preliminary Subdivision Plat for a 278-unit, single-family subdivision. The third and final phase of section one has recently been constructed, and the expectation is for construction of homes to begin in the near future.
Phase 1 of the second section was finished in 2014 and home construction is currently underway. Phases two and three of the second section received Final Subdivision Plat approval in September, and construction is expected to begin soon.
Council approved an Amended Preliminary Plat for the third section in 2014, which was expected to include 129 lots. Since then, the remainder of the site was purchased by Westport Homes, which is a division of D.R. Horton Inc., who has now proposed more amendments to the plan.
Among the changes in the plan for section three is a decrease in the overall number of units, which dropped to 121 units from the 158 units that were originally proposed in 2000. The unit decrease is a result of introducing added green space in the plan, which now totals more than five acres, as well as stormwater management needs. Lots would be a minimum of 8,190 square feet with 70-foot widths and a minimum of 117 feet deep.
Tree removal was a point of conversation throughout the process, given the amount of them on the entire site. In total, 2,398 caliper inches will be removed. In compliance with the city’s tree preservation regulations, the developer has agreed to pay the required fees in lieu of the trees being replaced.
The developer is also preserving more than 5,800 caliper inches of trees in several preserve areas on the site as well.
“I think with each amendment, it’s staff’s opinion and your planning commission’s opinion that it’s getting better and better,” Planning and Community Development Director Dave Efland said of the amended plan during the second reading of the ordinance on Dec. 9.
Efland said he anticipates a “fairly speedy buildout” pending the necessary approvals from council moving forward.
