Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Council Action Form dated June 10, 2025ITEM #:9 DATE:06-10-25 DEPT:P&H SUBJECT:ANSLEY SUBDIVISION, THIRD ADDITION FINAL PLAT COUNCIL ACTION FORM BACKGROUND: Ansley Land, LLC, is requesting approval of a Major Subdivision Final Plat and Public Improvements Agreement for the Ansley Subdivision, Third Addition, which will contain 15 single family residential lots. The Ansley Subdivision is located on the east side of Cedar Lane, generally south of Cottonwood Road, and on the west side of the Story County Tedesco Connector Trail (Attachment A). When all additions are completed, the Ansley Subdivision, a Planned Unit Development, will contain 122 residential lots and one commercial lot. Of the residential lots, 117 will contain single-family detached homes and the remaining five will each contain a series of townhomes. The development will also contain six common greenspaces and two stormwater ponds. Ansley Subdivision, First Addition was approved and recorded in October 2023. This is a replat of Outlot 'ZZ' of the First Addition, containing 4.784 acres. Although this final plat is numbered as the third, it is in fact the second area of the original preliminary plat to be final platted. A second addition, planned at the end of Aurora Avenue, is still in development. The Third Addition (Attachment B) has 15 single-family home lots, totaling 3.36 acres, in the northwestern portion of the Ansley neighborhood. The public right-of-way, to be dedicated, is 0.95 acres. And the outlots that will serve as shared private drives and alleys contain 0.40 acres. Outlot 'YY" of Ansley, the remainder of the development, contains 41.531 acres. The Third Addition will continue Ansley Avenue north from the First Addition and connect this street to Cedar Lane. The First Addition has an existing connection to Cedar Lane: Middleton Road. Future phases of Ansley will include a third connection to Cedar Lane, as well as connections to Aurora Avenue and stubs to connect through other future development to the east towards University Boulevard. Drainage of the Third Addition has been accounted for in the construction of the existing retention pond, constructed with the First Addition. MASTER PLAN AND REZONING AGREEMENT: A rezoning with Master Plan was approved on May 10, 2022, which rezoned the property from Agricultural (A) to Floating Suburban - Residential Low Density (FS-RL) with a Planned Unit Development Overlay (PUD) (Attachment C). The preliminary plat was approved on November 8, 2022. It included a waiver of the construction of Cedar Lane and utilities south of the southernmost interior subdivision road, Rothway Lane, that will connect to Cedar Lane through the development of future phases. Additionally, the developer returned with a request to waive their requirement to pave the future extension of Cedar Lane that was agreed upon by the City Council in 2024. A development agreement for the Cedar Lane paving has not yet been prepared to formalize the 1 City Council's future paving waiver. However, the Cedar Lane paving requirements are applicable to the 3rd Addition frontage as Cedar Lane is paved in this area. Per the Master Plan, the Third Addition will include all single-family, detached homes. As the Ansley Subdivision is within a PUD, certain deviations from zoning standards are allowed. Notably, the PUD includes provisions for shared private drives and alleys. Private streets and alleys are permitted if they are designed and constructed to meet Iowa Statewide Urban Design and Specifications (SUDAS) standards and the City's supplemental design standard requirements regarding pavement profile, base, and drainage. A certificate from a professional engineer verifying the private streets and alleys meet these requirements is required after construction. Private streets and alleys also require a legally binding instrument establishing responsibilities for maintenance, upkeep, and snow removal and a permanent easement for shared access and emergency vehicle access. An easement establishing access rights and maintenance provisions has been submitted. The developer initially planned to split the subdivision into 11 phases (Attachment D). This Third Addition, however, is the second part of the planned first phase. Platting of additions can occur in smaller portions than the overall phasing boundary of the PUD, if approved by City Council. Rezoning Agreement: A Rezoning Agreement executed at the time of the rezoning in May 2022 requires the developer to "assume all financial responsibility for road improvements to Cedar Lane", including offsite improvements to the frontage between the north and south areas of the site. This includes the extension of Cedar Lane to the southernmost Ansley street, Rothway Road, and the construction of sidewalk along the east side of the Cedar Lane from Rothway Road north to the northernmost street connection, Ansley Avenue. The developer is responsible for constructing sidewalk in front of several properties that are not a part of Ansley, both to the north and to the south of Middleton. Although the City could require this infill of sidewalk at anytime with the platting, it is not part of 3rd Addition at this time. The developer intends to meet this obligation to install sidewalk along Cedar Lane between Middleton and Ansley when it can be completed with other sidewalks installations to make a complete connection. The approved 2022 Rezoning Agreement requires the City and the developer to enter into a "Subdivision Developer Agreement" to "memorialize the City's requirements related to public improvements and timing." The subdivision agreement has not yet been executed. This agreement will elaborate on when the sidewalk along Cedar Lane in front of the properties outside of Ansley will be constructed. When homes on the lots at the corners of Cedar Lane and Middleton Road (First Addition) and Cedar Lane and Ansley Avenue (Third Addition) are built, the sidewalks will be installed on Cedar Lane and on the relevant side streets as is typical for sidewalk construction in Ames. At the north end of Ansley, the sidewalk would stop at the property line of an outlot for Suncrest Subdivision to the north of Ansley. The Suncrest outlot frontage, roughly 114 feet, does not have sidewalk; the sidewalk along the east side of Cedar Lane begins again next to the single-family lot to the north of the outlot. The Suncrest Subdivision did not include the construction of the sidewalk with the outlot and there is a gap that will need to eventually be 2 infilled to connect Ansley with development to the north. Staff supports approval of the 3rd Addition at this time with the understanding that the subdivision development agreement will be completed this year and include the sidewalk schedule and the Cedar Lane paving waiver. PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AGREEMENT: The water main has been installed for the Third Addition. Two typical agreements have been prepared for Council approval with the Final Plat: 1. A Public Improvements Agreement for the remaining improvements 2. An Agreement for deferral of Sidewalks and Street Trees. The Public Improvements Agreement identifies the need for financial security for the completion of certain improvements and utilities related to the proposed plat. Private improvements are not included within either of the agreements. Financial security has been submitted to the City in the amount of $471,909.50, which covers the cost of the remaining improvements, in the event the developer does not install the required improvements. The form of the security (cash) is acceptable. Sidewalks and street trees must be installed prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for an individual lot. Within three years after final plat approval, however, all sidewalks within the addition must be installed. Financial security can be reduced by the City Council as the required infrastructure is installed, inspected, and accepted by the City. This agreement only addresses sidewalk for lots within the 3rd Addition. ALTERNATIVES: 1. Approve the Final Plat of the Ansley Subdivision, Third Addition, based upon the findings that the Final Plat conforms to the relevant and applicable design standards, ordinances, policies, and plans, and accept the Public Improvements Agreement. 2. Delay approval of the 3rd Addition to address Cedar Lane sidewalk construction between Middleton and Ansley with the 3rd Addition public improvement requirements. 3. Deny the Final Plat of the Ansley Subdivision, Third Addition, by finding that the development creates a burden on existing public improvements or creates a need for new public improvements that have not yet been installed. 4. Refer this request back to staff or the applicant for additional information. CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: After reviewing the proposed Final Plat of the Ansley Subdivision, Third Addition, staff finds that it complies with all relevant and applicable design and improvement standards of the Subdivision Regulations and to other adopted City plans, ordinances, and standards. 3 The Cedar Lane sidewalk construction can be delayed as desired by the applicant as an infill sidewalk component when other Ansley sidewalks are constructed. A subdivision development agreement for sidewalks and Cedar Lane paving waiver will be prepared later this year and formally address the requirement. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council approve Alternative #1, as described above. ATTACHMENT(S): Attachment A - Location Map.pdf Attachment B - Final Plat.PDF Attachment C - Master Plan.pdf Attachment D - Phasing Plan.pdf Attachment E - Applicable Law.pdf 4 ANSLEYAVE CEDAR LN MIDDLETON RD AURORA AVE COYOTE DR UNIVERSITY BLVD Ansley SubdivisionThird AdditionCedar Lane Legend AnsleyAnsley Additions First (Existing) Second (Proposed) Third (Current Consideration)0 400 800200Feet ¯ City Limits Attachm ent ALocation Map 5 6 7 8 Attachment C Ansley PUD Master Plan 9 Attachment D Ansley Phasing Plan 10 Attachment E Applicable Laws & Policies Pertaining to Final Plat Approval Adopted laws and policies applicable to this case file include, but are not limited to, the following: Code of Iowa, Chapter 254.8 states in part: 1. A proposed subdivision plat lying within the jurisdiction of a governing body shall be submitted to that governing body for review and approval prior to recording. Governing bodies shall apply reasonable standards and conditions in accordance with applicable statutes and ordinances for the review and approval of subdivisions. The governing body, within sixty days of application for final approval of the subdivision plat, shall determine whether the subdivision conforms to its comprehensive plan and shall give consideration to the possible burden on public improvements and to a balance of interests between the proprietor, future purchasers, and the public interest in the subdivision when reviewing the proposed subdivision and when requiring the installation of public improvements in conjunction with approval of a subdivision. The governing body shall not issue final approval of a subdivision plat unless the subdivision plat conforms to sections 354.6, 354.11, and 355.8. Ames Municipal Code, Section 23.303(3) states as follows: (3) City Council Action on Final Plat for Minor Subdivision: (a) All proposed subdivision plats shall be submitted to the City Council for review and approval in accordance with Section 354.8 of the Iowa Code, as amended or superseded. Upon receipt of any Final Plat forwarded to it for review and approval, the City Council shall examine the Application Form, the Final Plat, any comments, recommendations or reports examined or made by the Department of Planning and Housing, and such other information as it deems necessary or reasonable to consider. (b) Based upon such examination, the City Council shall ascertain whether the Final Plat conforms to relevant and applicable design and improvement standards in these Regulations, to other City ordinances and standards, to the City's Land Use Policy Plan and to the City's other duly adopted plans. If the City Council determines that the proposed subdivision will require the installation or upgrade of any public improvements to provide adequate facilities and services to any lot in the proposed subdivision or to maintain adequate facilities and services to any other lot, parcel or tract, the City Council shall deny the Application for Final Plat Approval of a Minor Subdivision and require the Applicant to file a Preliminary Plat for Major Subdivision. 11