Arbor changes plans for northeast side community

A housing development the city turned down earlier this year is trying again, this time with plans to build fewer homes.

The Arbor Homes subdivision dubbed Ridgetop would be located along Combs Road, just south of County Line Road. It would back up to industrial buildings to the west.

Homes in this community would average $225,000, according to city documents.

Last year, the developer requested rezoning 32 acres of land to R-3 from R-2 because the builder had plans to include more homes than would be allowed given its current zoning. R-2 allows for 3.5 homes per acre, while R-3 allows for up to six. The builder was planning to build about four houses per acre. 

The city’s planning commission gave it a favorable recommendation, but the city council said no.

Arbor met with area residents, some of whom hired attorneys, and worked with them to reach compromises and add certain commitments that went before the city council in February. Arbor agreed to a list of commitments, including planting trees along the west and south border of the community, paying or reimbursing for privacy fencing, only building detached single-family homes and meeting all of Greenwood’s architectural standards.

Council member David Hopper pointed out that Arbor once said they couldn’t possibly meet Greenwood’s architectural standards.

“What do we have going on in the city right now? We have an Amazon facility that was just approved with wages in the high teens, and we have a request by the city for a food and beverage tax that would be utilized to bring on additional police and firefighters. Ridgetop is the exact type of subdivision that would encompass those folks and allow those home buyers a place to live near where they work,” attorney for the developer Eric Prime said during a presentation in January.

Both residents and city leaders argued that people making $17 or $18 an hour, or even public safety employees whose spouses are stay-at-home parents, can’t afford homes in the $200,000-range.

They were also concerned about how close the homes would be built to each other, a lack of green space and property values going down.

Arbor lowered the number of houses it planned to build to 112 from 120 as part of its initial list of commitments. But that didn’t cut it. The city council voted 4-5 in February on rezoning the land for this development, and sent the developer back to the drawing board.

Now, Arbor plans to build 94 houses — so just shy of three houses on each acre, which they hope will make the development more appealing to the city council.

The Planning Commission on Monday gave the request to rezone that land to R-2A another favorable recommendation, said Bill Peeples, planning director.

It will go before the city council again for a final vote.