This site on the southeast corner of Beavercreek is currently zoned for commercial use. The Mall at Fairfield Commons was going to go there before it ended up in its current spot.
Planning and Development Director Randy Burkett said if the site is turned into a residential area, there would be about 1,400 additional cars a day on Shakertown Road. If it were to be developed for a commercial use, it would add about 16,000 cars a day to the road.
At public hearings on Monday evening, M/I asked that the site be rezoned for residential use and that it’s specific site plan be approved.
Mary Lou Hopun, a resident of the neighboring Tara Falls neighborhood and the president of the board of trustees of the HOA, said the density of the homes in this proposed neighborhood concerned her and those living around her.
The Sky Crossing neighborhood would have more than a dozen different floor plans with square footage ranging from about 1,500-square-feet to about 3,200-square-feet. The lot sizes will range from about 7,600-square-feet to 38,000-square-feet, according to city documents. The average lot size in this plan is about a quarter of an acre. The density of the development is 1.8 houses per acre, according to the city.
Diana Carlin also lives in Tara Falls and said her property would back up to the proposed new subdivision. Carlin said she was worried about how the new development might impact wildlife in the area. The area is currently partially wooded and also farmland. Carlin said she also had concerns about water runoff and drainage problems in the area.
Several residents who spoke at Monday’s public hearing said they were concerned about the tree line separating Tara Falls from the new Sky Crossing development. They wanted the tree line to be thicker so that they would still have privacy in their backyards or to have a buffer from the construction noise.
The rezoning will likely be approved at the next regularly scheduled city council meeting on May 10. Further discussion on the specific site plan was tabled until that next meeting. Mayor Bob Stone said he’d like to see city staff and M/I Homes sit down and discuss the tree line again before the next meeting.
The legislation will be picked back up at the next meeting where it left off, City Manager Pete Landrum said. The public hearing has been completed, but more discussions will likely happen between city council, city staff and the applicant before the vote, Landrum said.
City staff are proposing that there be access points on Shakertown Road and Alpha Bellbrook Road. Residents also voiced concern over the safety of the Shakertown Road access point.
Two of the lots to be built on are partially on a wetland. Residents are concerned about homes being built so close to a wetland.
The developer said they will follow all Ohio EPA guidelines. The city plans to add conditions to the specific site plan that emphasize that point.
Some of the homes will be one-story, but most will have two-stories. All will have basements.
M/I Homes has a nearby development called Cedarbrook Farms in Beavercreek. Cedarbrook Farms is also on Shakertown Road. At the public hearing on Monday night, the developer said they were looking to “copy and paste” the success they had with homes in Cedarbrook Farms down the road with this new development.
Home prices in this new development will be comparable to Cedarbrook. Prices will start about $350,000 and average $475,000.
M/I Homes also has developments in Sugarcreek Twp., Batavia, Dayton, Washington Twp., Springboro, Mason, Liberty Twp. and West Chester.
The Sky Crossing development would be built in three phases over four or six years.
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