A proposed 110-unit condo complex situated along the east side of Madison Pike in Independence cleared another hurdle to construction this week.
No one spoke out against the development at a special Independence City Council meeting on Monday, where the city government approved a final development plan for the complex.
The development has undergone several rounds of zoning requests and development proposals before both the council and the county planning commission since early this year, virtually every one of which was characterized by public opposition due to the development’s density and potential effects on traffic.
Representatives from Madison Pike Partners, LLC., the company developing the complex, could not give an exact construction timeline on Monday, but estimated that the earliest time construction could begin in earnest to be next spring.
Madison Pike Partners is planning to develop 110 condo units spread throughout 12 buildings on the east side of Madison Pike.
The development would also feature 257 parking spaces consisting of 72 driveways, 72 garage spaces and 113 off-street parking spots. It would contain homes built by Fischer Homes and sport a density of 13.43 units per net acre.
The development has been controversial from the get-go. The developers, who originally wanted to include 124 units, came before the county planning commission in February with a zoning change request. Several Independence residents spoke out in opposition to it at the time, arguing it was too dense and would increase traffic. In a split vote, the commission affirmed the residents’ concerns and voted down the developers’ request.
This escalated the request to the Independence City Council, but the developers decided to withdraw their request before a vote could take place. Still, residents in opposition to the development posted signs around town encouraging people to attend the March council meeting to express their opposition.
Independence Mayor Chris Reinersman — who has a background in real estate appraisal — developers and residents debated the merits of the development at the March meeting.
Reinersman discussed some compromises the developers had offered since the planning commission’s vote in February. These included reducing the number of proposed units from 124 to 110 and prohibiting renting in the condo complex’s home association covenant, which would need to be approved by the city before building permits could be issued per Monday’s approval.
Monday’s resolution did allow renting but only under “extreme circumstances” and only for up to a year. What extreme circumstances means is not explained in the resolution.
Besides the reduction in units, in March the developers had also shaved off a chunk of the land on the west side of the development, reducing the number of entryway intersections to just one. They also moved a building in the eastern part of the development farther away from the Hartland neighborhood to the south, got rid of one of the retaining walls, and agreed to build a walking path from the development northward to the Kenton County Courthouse, where a yet-to-be-built farmer’s market will be.
Following residents’ concerns about traffic, the developers had commissioned Mason, Ohio-based engineering firm SHA Engineering to perform a traffic study, which measured the traffic counts for the intersection that would lead into the development as they occurred on Feb. 1, 2024, and projected them out by 10 years.
The study estimated the total number of cars post-development to be 57 cars during peak morning traffic hours, from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., and 68 cars during peak evening hours, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
This wasn’t enough to warrant additional traffic mitigations, according to the study, other than a stop sign at the main access point.
Council did not cast a vote on the development in March, but the developers brought a new zoning change request before the county planning commission in April. The planning commission approved it, although opposition continued from several residents. The zoning change then returned to the city council in June. The council approved the final zoning change in a 5 to 1 vote.
The development plan has changed little since the zoning approval in June.
Council cast a 4 to 1 vote in favor of the plan on Monday. Council Member Greg Steffen was the only member of the council to cast a ‘no’ vote.
Representatives from Madison Pike Partners estimated that next spring would be the earliest point at which construction could begin in earnest.
Read the complete development plan, including maps, geological analyses and diagrams of the condos, below.