- The Boone County Planning Commission’s Zone Change Subcommittee voted to advance Drees Homes’ proposal for a 224-unit townhome community on 37 acres off North Bend Road in Hebron.
- Traffic concerns dominated discussions, with KYTC supporting new turn lanes but rejecting acceleration lanes and finding no current justification for restricting left turns.
Drees Homes, a Fort Mitchell-based homebuilder, is seeking to build a 224-unit townhome complex off North Bend Road in the Hebron area.
The homebuilder first introduced its proposal to the Boone County Planning Commission at a public hearing on June 3. Fast-forward to Wednesday, June 17, when the planning commission’s Zone Change subcommittee reviewed the proposal and addressed concerns raised at the public hearing.
For Drees’ project to move forward, the homebuilder needs the fiscal court to approve its rezoning request to change the zoning of the 37-acre property—located along the west side of North Bend Road between Overlook Drive and Barbara Drive—from Suburban Residential Two to Suburban Residential Three.
The complex would consist of multiple two-story condominium buildings with garages, homeowners association-maintained common areas, as well as amenities including a pool, clubhouse, walking paths and open green spaces. In addition, Drees Development Manager Matt Mains said the proposal’s density of approximately 6.1 units per acre remains below the comprehensive plan’s maximum allowance of eight units per acre.
Currently, the property is owned by the Goodridge Family Partnership, Gwen Vice and Nancy Akins, according to Boone County property records.
During the subcommittee meeting, Boone County Planner Steve Lilly updated the commission on several opinions issued by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet regarding the development. Traffic was the primary concern raised by residents at the public hearing, with residents worried that the development could exacerbate existing traffic issues in the surrounding area.
Lilly said that Drees met with KYTC to evaluate improvements to the development’s entrance. While deceleration lanes for northbound and southbound traffic remain part of the proposal, KYTC declined to support acceleration lanes, citing insufficient space and potential safety concerns.
In addition, KYTC determined that existing crash data did not justify restricting left-turn lanes at the entrance.
“As far as a left turn restriction, KYTC indicated that left turns are currently permitted at other locations along this corridor, and available crash data does not justify restricting this intersection at this time,” Lilly said. “However, they noted that they retained the authority to reevaluate and implement restrictions in the future, should situations come up.”
Drees’ also agreed to reconstruct and widen the entrance road to meet county standards, but both parties opposed adding separate outbound lanes because of concerns about vehicle conflicts and sight-distance issues.
“I will note that, regardless of us not putting two lanes out, which we were open to doing, we will reconstruct that road because it is pretty small entrance and exit in there, and so we’ll have to make sure that’s brought up to county standards for that, and the turn that’s actually into our development,” Mains said.
The subcommittee also discussed buffering between the proposed townhomes and existing neighboring properties. In response to public concerns, the developer revised the plan to increase the setback from adjacent homes, creating a minimum 50-foot buffer, with most buildings approximately 60 feet from the property line.
At the conclusion of the meeting, several conditions were attached to Drees’ proposal, including the adoption of the revised concept development plan; the construction of a pedestrian sidewalk connection to the multi-use path; enhanced evergreen landscaping within the buffer area; a commitment that the developer would sell rather than rent units; and the inclusion of the amenity area by no later than Phase Two of construction.
Ultimately, the subcommittee decided to proceed with the project, submitting it for review by the full planning commission.
If the commission recommends approval of the zone change, the proposal will then be forwarded to the Boone County Fiscal Court, which holds the final decision-making authority because the property is in unincorporated Boone County.
