Photo by Lexi Coon.
Fowler Lake resident Tom Jury speaks to the commission about his concerns with the buffer area behind the houses that are along the lake during the planning commission meeting on Jan. 17.
Just before the holidays, the Shelby County Planning Commission had an empty agenda after a request to review an amended master plan for The Village at Highland Lakes was carried to the meeting on Jan. 17 so that representatives could answer questions from surrounding property owners.
The original master plan for the neighborhood was approved in 2004 and had three more approved amendments, with the most recent being in 2013. Now, in the fourth proposed amended plan, the developers are addressing three aspects of the area: a reconfiguration of the roads and addition of new common areas; a reconfiguration of certain lots and the reduction of the number of lots; and an absorption of unusable common areas.
According to the report read by senior planner Sharman Brooks, the new plans included an added detention pond in place of some former lots within the neighborhood as well as the designation of unusable areas for developments. "During the spring of 2015, Spectrum Environmental delineated some jurisdictional waters and wetlands in the southwestern corner of the project," said Brooks.
To incorporate the delineation, the master plan eliminates development in these areas and has instead constructed a trail as well as a detention pond. The amendment also proposed that some of the common area that was deemed unusable now be absorbed by some of the lots. According to Steve Castleman with Spectrum Environmental, although the previously marked common area would no longer be public, it would be used as a buffer for the lots and surrounding area.
To work with the reconfiguration of the unusable areas as well as loss of some lots, the roads have been redrawn within the neighborhood. "We've gone from a more concentric road layout to a more linear road layout," Brooks said.
This has also affected some of the lots' sizes, and Brooks said that the total number of 63 foot lots was decreased to 99 lots and has increased the number of 90 foot lots to 79 lots. According to representative Scott Vaughn, the fourth phase of the master plan is the only part being changed, and it "identifies a total of 131 lots in phase four, and includes an overall reduction of 29 lots." The reduction of 29 lots will leave the neighborhood with a total of 819 lots.
Brooks also mentioned that currently, the neighborhood will not be conducting mass grading because it no longer cost effective for the developer due to huge boulders coming out of the ground. "Sometimes, you have to take what the land gives you," said owner Doug Eddleman. "We're just trying to get back to normal sized lots."
While much of the amendment deals with the designation of common areas and lots sizes, two main concerns of residents during the meeting revolved around the residences along Fowler Lake and the lake itself.
Because some of the homes back up directly to other areas within The Village at Highland Lakes, resident Tom Jury expressed concern about the proximity of the trail to the homes along the lake. "If that trail comes through there, we're going to have a summer full of kids that we aren't responsible for," he said. "That kind of concerns us only because of liability standpoint, just because it is a private lake and we don't need a liability there."
He requested an increased buffer area, something that commissioner Michael O'Kelley echoed. Eddlemen noted that there is a fence to separate the homes along Fowler Lake, but if there is a portion of the trail that encroaches, then they will work to move the trail so it is on the proper side.
Resident Terry Stiles Harrison, who also lives on Fowler Lake, brought to the attention of the commission that runoff from surrounding areas has been entering the lake. Her main concern was that the water that is supposed to be going in to the detention ponds is instead going in to Fowler Lake.
Castleman responded to her concerns, noting that some of the lots were moved out of existing stream beds and that a large amount is done to control any sediment and erosion at the point of origin. "The collection efforts that we've made are more upstream or up-gradient in these locations than they are trying to catch these things in the lower part," he said. "The efforts at this property are to, one, minimize the impact to the natural waterways, and that was the primary reason for reducing the number of lots. Secondly, reducing the area of cleared property."
After hearing from all residents who wished to speak, the planning commission voted to approve the amended master plan with commissioner Bob Land abstaining.
The commission also approved a request for a resubdivision of a 2.99 acre plat along County Road 47. Under the new subdivision, the plat will become two lots, one that is 1.9 acres and house a mobile home, and another lot that is 1.09 acres and maintains the current home and pool.