The City of Anna Planning and Zoning Commission on Nov. 3 voted unanimously to recommend approval of a planned-development zoning request for Thompson Grove and separately approved the subdivision's preliminary plat.

The action concerns an approximately 18-acre site in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction on the west side of Ferguson Parkway. The applicant, represented by Kelby Golden of Onyx Development Company, asked that the site be annexed and zoned PD for SF-6 (50-by-120-foot lots) to allow roughly 76 detached single-family homes. The application requested four modifications to standard development rules: a reduction of the required cul-de-sac length (to 200 feet from 400), exemption from an extra 10 feet in lot depth for lots backing to the major arterial, removal of the neighborhood point system in favor of a landscape enhancement plan, and an increase in allowable building coverage from 50 percent to 55 percent.

The commission's recommendation to council included one explicit condition: the developer must provide a house-repetition plan to limit duplication of the same facade on adjacent lots. Commissioners considered, but declined to adopt, a staff recommendation to require the specific four architectural elevations the applicant showed; the final motion required only the house-repetition plan. Commissioner Herman moved to recommend approval; Commissioner Volmer seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Separately, the commission approved the Thompson Grove preliminary plat, submitted by the Constantine Family Trust, finding it met the city's subdivision standards. That procedural vote also passed unanimously.

Developer presentation and project details

Kelby Golden told the commission the plan would include roughly 76 lots at a minimum 6,000-square-foot size (50-by-120). He described four home styles shown to the city, a commitment to approximately 70 percent masonry on elevations and a goal to position the product above the city's median home price. Golden said the development team prefers to provide a landscape enhancement and a prominent entry monument rather than meet the city's neighborhood point checklist, which he said is difficult to satisfy on smaller sites.

Golden characterized the proposal as an annexation-plus-development package, saying the developer would voluntarily annex the property and had requested the city's consent to form a public improvement district (PID) to help fund certain infrastructure elements. He said the site abuts Oak Hollow Estates and Lakeview Estates and that the proposed design was intended to be compatible with surrounding subdivisions.

Fiscal and infrastructure points raised

The applicant presented a fiscal estimate tied to annexation and build-out: roughly $7.6 million in ad valorem revenue over a 30-year horizon and about $390,000 in impact fees, which Golden summarized as about $8 million in revenue to the city from annexation. He also described three options for addressing missing Ferguson Parkway right-of-way adjacent to the site: (1) build around missing segments and construct more roadway now, (2) build only the portion that lies entirely within the developer's dedicated right-of-way and accept temporary barricading where the road is incomplete, or (3) dedicate right-of-way and pay roadway impact fees to be used later when the full corridor is built. Golden said the portion of roadway the developer would deliver equated to about $1.2 million (in current dollars) of value and that, by his calculations using the city's published CIP methodology, a roughly $830,000 gap would remain between proportional city cost and the project's demand-based contribution.

Timing and build-out

Golden told commissioners that, if approvals proceed, the team expects approximately nine months of engineering, followed by about 18 months of horizontal construction (utilities, roads and grading). Given the planned mid-to-upper price point, Golden estimated total build-out of the subdivision could take about 3.5 years.

Public comments and commission concerns

Two nearby residents spoke at the public hearing. Sarah Reno (1500 S. Ferguson Parkway) said the roadway and traffic impacts were her primary concern and that drainage questions had been answered earlier in the presentation. Gina (a Lakeview Estates resident) urged the commission to consider construction disruption, school-zone congestion and whether the product is needed amid other city-area development.

Staff scope and next steps

Staff clarified that the commission's action on zoning is a recommendation to city council and that the financial proportionality of road improvements and any PID are matters for council review and the city engineer. Staff also explained that the preliminary plat was judged against the existing subdivision ordinance and was eligible for an up-or-down decision based on whether it met current technical standards.

Votes at a glance

- Zoning recommendation (PD for SF-6, Thompson Grove): Motion to recommend approval as revised (require house-repetition plan only). Mover: Commissioner Herman. Second: Commissioner Volmer. Outcome: approved unanimously.

- Thompson Grove preliminary plat (owner: Constantine Family Trust): Motion to approve plat as meeting subdivision standards. Mover: (unnamed commissioner). Second: (unnamed). Outcome: approved unanimously.

Why it matters

A city recommendation to annex and zone the site would allow the city to exercise development standards it cannot enforce in the extraterritorial jurisdiction; annexation also triggers ad valorem tax revenue and impact fees that the applicant quantified. The project requests multiple variances from adopted standards (lot depth adjacent to an arterial, cul-de-sac length, neighborhood point system), and those variances, together with roadway funding and timing, were the principal subjects of commissioner and public scrutiny.

What to watch next

The zoning recommendation will go to the Anna City Council for final action; any agreement on PIDs, detailed roadway design, and final development-agreement language will be resolved in later council negotiations and engineering review. The applicant estimates engineering completion in about nine months and horizontal construction of utilities and roads in about 18 months after approvals.