The Lake Planning Commission approved a preliminary plat for a new 46-lot subdivision near Baker Road with frontage on Lake Halford during their May 29 meeting.
The proposed development is nearly 52 acres and involves three developers: Beaver Creek Management, LLC; Ensley Dirtwork and Investment Properties, LLC; and Seth Bennett Properties, LLC.
The lots will connect to Cedar Grove Utility District for water and Huntingdon’s municipal sewer systems. Road access will come from an extended and widened portion of Dogwood Lane.
“This is just a preliminary plat, so they’re basically getting the layout approved,” said planning consultant Donny Bunton. “All the minimum requirements were met. It looked pretty good.”
Surveyor Andrew Stokes flagged a submerged parcel near the subdivision that was supposed to be deeded to the watershed authority when the lake was created. The land remained under private ownership due to a clerical error.
“There’s no intention of these developers keeping that property,” Stokes said. “It needs to be in the lake, but it’s got to be done correctly. It was simply a mistaken description that probably would have never been noticed had I not been going through it and trying to do my job right.”
Bunton confirmed if the issue could be resolved before granting final plat approval.
“If we get to the final plat and that’s still sitting there, it would be a landlocked property,” he said. “As long as it’s corrected before then, we don’t have an issue.”
Other Business
Commissioners also approved a site plan submitted by Michael Haywood to build a house on Lot 4 of the Angler’s Point Subdivision. Bunton said the proposed house met all setback requirements, including about 140 feet from the lake’s normal pool.
Rule Change Discussion
The meeting ended with a discussion about whether to ease the 10-day deadline for submitting residential site plans.
Commission member Tony Tucker raised concerns about the current approval process delaying construction for property owners who have completed all survey work but miss the submission deadline.
A landowner submitted their survey to Bunton earlier that day, but cannot proceed with construction until approval in June.
“If there’s a better way to do this that still meets our guidelines, we ought to consider it,” Tucker said.
He proposed allowing Bunton to approve surveys administratively when they meet all setback requirements.
Chairman John Austin pushed back, warning against undermining the rules the board previously adopted.
“If we’re not going to follow the rules that we have set in place, let’s abolish the Planning Commission and let the folks that live around the lake do what they want,” Austin said. “I’m a firm believer in doing things the right way, and we have these rules for a reason.”
Bunton noted that allowing administrative approvals would require a zoning amendment and consent from the county commission. However, the commission could amend its bylaws to remove the 10-day deadline, as long as site plans are submitted by the day of the meeting and meet all requirements.
“That would be the easiest way to do it,” Bunton said. “You wouldn’t have to change any zoning regulations. You’d just be tweaking your internal process.”
No vote was taken, but Austin and Bunton said they will bring forth a recommendation at a future meeting.
The commission is scheduled to meet next on June 26 at 1:30 p.m.
