Planners approve Goose Creek Village plats

FARMINGTON — Two residential plats tabled in November by the Planning Commission because of neighbors’ concerns received the go ahead at the commission’s Dec. 28 meeting.

The city’s Planning Commission approved the final plat for Goose Creek Village, Phase 1, and the preliminary plat for Goose Creek Village, Phase 2.

In November, two neighbors of Phase 1 addressed commissioners with different concerns, one about drainage improvement and the other about early-morning construction noise and trash.

Goose Creek is owned by Red Canyon Development and north of the intersection of Double Springs and Goose Creek roads. Phase 1 has 51 lots on 18 acres. The preliminary plat for Phase 2 shows about 57 lots on 20 acres.

In all, Goose Creek Village will have about 300 houses on 126 acres when it is built out, according to information provided by the developer at a commission meeting in 2018.

Jared Inman with Jorgensen & Associates engineering firm told commissioners last week he has walked through the Phase 1 development with city officials and representatives of the city of Fayetteville and said he believes everything has been taken care of for the drainage concerns voiced by the one neighbor.

City engineer Chris Brackett with Olsson Inc., agreed, saying the drainage structures are in order.

Brackett’s memo to the commission said Phase 1 had been reviewed and he recommended the final plat should be approved, contingent on several comments.

The comments include a $30,600 payment in lieu of park land conveyance, which is $600 per lot for 51 single-family lots, and that the public improvements and sidewalks along Double Springs must be finished.

Commission member Keith Macedo had several concerns, saying he noticed the light poles were not straight in some places. He also asked how much of the punch list for the city had been addressed and Inman said the punch list was about 50-70% complete.

When the floor was opened to the public, Diamond Olivas, who lives across North Double Springs Road from the subdivision, asked when the developer would return his mailbox to the original location and asked about damage to his yard from construction.

Inman responded he thought those items should be added to the punch list.

Olivas, who complained about the early morning noise and trash last month, said construction crews are still operating early in the morning. He said he called the Police Department about it, and “they told me they are allowed to operate early in the morning.”

Commissioner Judy Horne, referring to last month’s commission meeting, said “This is like deja vu all over again from last time where things were not going well.”

Horne asked the developer and engineer to be “more diligent on Phase 2.”

For Goose Creek Subdivision, Phase 2, Brackett recommended the commission approve the preliminary plat, conditional on several comments, including a payment of $34,200 in lieu of park land conveyance. Phase 2 includes a traffic circle and Brackett said this should be approved by Farmington Fire Department.

Commission Chad Ball asked construction crews not be allowed to use adjacent subdivisions to access Phase 2. Inman agreed, saying this wouldn’t happen.

When discussion was opened to the public, one person, Tommy Johnson, had a request. He pointed out it’s impossible to look at the plats online and wondered how he could see a plat that is easier to read.

City business manager Melissa McCarville said she could make one available in a separate room and Johnson could come to City Hall and look at it. Commission Chairman Robert Mann added the city could ask engineers to send high resolution images of the plats to be reviewed online.

Inman said another option is to call the engineers with questions or to ask for a high resolution plat to be emailed.

In other business, the commission approved the final plat for Farmington Heights, Phase 2. The only difference from a preliminary plat is four lots have been added to the subdivision, instead of land for park conveyance. The developer will have to pay $54,600 in lieu of park land conveyance.

Farmington Heights, Phase 2, is on 30 acres at South 54th Street and Woolsey Farm Road. It will have 90 building lots and is adjacent to Phase 1, which has about 125 lots.

The commission also granted a setback variance request from Jeff Oxford from 25 feet to 6 feet for a shop at 12186 N. Highway 170.

Commissioner Chad Ball voted against the variance request. Ball said he didn’t feel comfortable with the request because the shop would be so close to the property line and would be on top of a drainage area.

McCarville pointed out Oxford’s property isn’t in a subdivision but more in a country setting, so homes will not be constructed near the shop in the future.

Macedo made one request about future applications.

“The application doesn’t say the reason for a variance,” Macedo said. “It just asks for a variance. I dug through this trying to figure out what was going on.”

McCarville said the city would work on that in the future.