The Shawnee Planning Commission gave the green light to an additional phase in a single-family subdivision being built in a western part of the city.
On Monday, the planning commission voted 9-0 to approve the rezoning and preliminary plat for Canyon Lakes West, an additional part of the approved Canyon Lakes subdivision located in the 5800 block of Clare Road.
The vote was 9-0. Commissioners Amit Bhakta, who the planning commission announced was leaving effective immediately, and Leo Nunnink were absent.
Led by Prieb Homes, the project comprises 49 new single-family residential lots to be built on undeveloped land containing mostly of open pasture grassland and some scattered trees, according to city documents.
The rezoning changes the subdivision from residential suburban to single-family residential.
The plat will be part an existing subdivision
Canyon Lakes West would be an addition to the already-approved Canyon Lakes subdivision, a project currently under construction that contains 281 single-family lots on 141.4 acres.
The Shawnee City Council originally approved the project in 2017, with the seventh and originally final phase of the project approved earlier this year.
The Canyon Lakes West property was originally rezoned from agricultural to residential in 2001 for The Farmington Hills development, but was never constructed, according to city documents.
Clare Road traffic safety is a concern for locals
The primary access roads to the subdivision are Clear Creek Parkway and Clare Road.
Echoing complaints to a Shawnee subdivision proposed earlier this year, Village at Clear Creek, which also uses Clare Road as an access road, residents were concerned if the narrow road could handle more traffic.
Beckie King, a Shawnee resident who lives on Clare Road, told the planning commission that little work has occurred on Clare Road and that its curvy, hilly nature makes it a dangerous enough street that her in-laws got in a crash while turning off of it.
“We do not need more traffic where it’s already problem, and you are asking for a problem, so I’d like it on record that you all know if somebody gets hurt, it’s going to be on your conscience,” she said.
Another resident that lives on Clare Road, Fred Franzwa, also warned the planning commission about traffic troubles that the subdivision could cause on Clare.
“People tend to speed on that road. (It’s) an accident waiting to happen,” he said. “If we could maybe get that off the table and reroute (the subdivision’s roads), I guess I’d be probably a little more on board with this. But putting a road right there, we’re just asking for issues.”
Stating that a subdivision across from her home on Clare Road was “inevitable,” Pam DeCamp said improvements to Clare Road needs to happen soon.
“I just think if we do have housing over there, we need to make Clare Road a priority, and not just, ‘Oh, maybe it’s going to be on the five-year plan,'” she said.
Clare Road is not currently listed in the city’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan, but may be added in the future, Mark Zielsdorf, a planner for the city, said during the meeting.
“They are aware of the condition of Clare Road, and it has been brought up, and it is on the council’s radar as in need of improvement, but at this time, it is not on any Capital Improvement Program, nor is there any funding identified for those improvements,” he said.
City staff clarifies project is in preliminary stages
Addressing residents’ concerns, Doug Allmon, Shawnee community development director, said the city still has time to look at other connections to the proposed subdivision, as a prospective improvement project to Clare Road would likely be lengthy and labor-intensive.
“There’s going to be probably considerable cut and fill to make (Clare Road) meet a collector standard,” he said. “You have slopes on both sides of the road that are, it was mentioned, 18-to-20 foot (drop-offs). You’re going to have visibility and sight line issues, hills that’ll have to be cut down.”
“This isn’t going to be just a matter of widening it out with ditches. If it’s improved, it’s going to be a significant project, very similar to what we’re doing on Midland Road right now,” he added.
Commissioners understood safety concerns
Planning commissioners empathized with residents that have concerns and spoke of improvements that need to happen to Clare Road.
Still, commissioners like Genise Luecke see the subdivision in line with the Golden Rules.
“To me, the rezoning, it does fit the factors of the Golden Rules,” she said. “It fits the character of the neighborhood. There’s no safety issues besides what’s going on on Clare Road.”
Agreeing that more development was inevitable, Commissioner Joe Van Walleghem said this was no surprise.
“This property, we all knew it was going to be developed. There’s a proposal on the table to develop it today, and I don’t think it’s really our role to stand in the way here,” he said.
“It’s not the planning commission’s role that we’re going to improve Clare (Road) or 71st street, or any of these streets. At the same time, I don’t want to penalize the property owners who have investments in these properties,” he added.
Other Shawnee development news: Western Shawnee tract long eyed by developers is focus of new plan for 60+ homes
