A development proposal calling for 67 new single-family lots west of Independence’s Glenhurst neighborhood has cleared the Kenton County Planning Commission, paving the way for the subdivision to expand into the unincorporated county.
The planning commission recommended a zoning change for the land on Thursday. The land is located in the unincorporated county, abutting the eastern border of the Greens of Glenhurst in Independence. The 27-acre site is currently zoned for agricultural use, and the zoning change would allow the developers, Parkland Homes, to subdivide the land into 67 new single family lots. The Kenton County Fiscal Court will have final say on if the zoning change is enacted.
“This is an extension of the Greens of Glenhurst portion of our project,” said developer Greg Berling. “Arlinghaus Builders, our partners, part of the development team here, has been building Greens of Glenhurst for a number of years.”
The developers submitted a preliminary development plan, which proposed a density of 2.83 housing units per acre. Berling said the average lot size would be about 65 square feet, slightly smaller than the 70-square-foot lots in the existing subdivision. The plan calls for a homeowner’s association, homes with at least three bedrooms and base prices of about $350,000, just above the region’s median home price, which reached record highs in August. The homes therein would resemble the other Arlinghaus homes in the neighborhood, Berling said.
Kenton County Planning and Development staff members recommended approval but pointed out some issues with the proposal, tempering their recommendation with a condition to the keep the density at 2.83 units per acre.
Firstly, the development is uphill from a flood zone, so the staff members recommended the builders take care to preserve the area’s natural topography, which they argued would facilitate drainage.
Next, the county’s recommended land use for the area calls for a density of only 2 units per acre, less than the proposal’s 2.83 units per acre. Although the land could conceivably support the density, the staff members recommended not allowing it grow any denser.
Finally, the staff’s report pointed out that “although the proposed development will be providing new housing within close proximity to where commercial activity and services already exist, it will not be providing housing that will help fill a current gaps.”
They pointed to a housing study released by the Northern Kentucky Area Development District last year, which, among other things, showed the region to be oversupplied with the three-bedroom homes the developer hoped to build.
There was discussion among the commissioners about the area’s recommended land use and related regulations. Commission Vice Chair Paul Darpel pitched the idea of adding the condition the developers conform to their concept plan before recommending the zoning change.
“My concern is just all of a sudden, once we give this zone, they can build what they want out there; the concept development plan doesn’t matter,” Darpel said.
Berling and Bob Schroeder of Arlinghaus Builders said they would agree to both the density condition and the condition to develop according to their submitted plan with minor possible changes.
The commission then voted to recommend the zoning change with only a single commissioner, Covington Rep. Kareem Simpson, voting no. Simpson had voted no on another larger development by Drees Homes in the unincorporated county last month, saying it didn’t meet the region’s housing needs. He reiterated his concerns with this development, as well.
“We just have to keep on trying to facilitate housing that is aligned with the needs of the region,” Simpson said.
See the full concept plan for the development below.
The next meeting of the Kenton County Planning Commission will take place on Thursday, Nov. 7, beginning at 6:15 p.m. at the Kenton County Government Center on Simon Kenton Way.