New Subdivision Concerns Stall Board's Approval of Plans

Monday night, the Town and Country Board of Aldermen could not reach an agreement over the the construction of 69 new houses along Clayton Road on what will become a new subdivision called The Estates at Town and Country Crossing.

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Instead of voting, the board continued discussion over the use of the 35-acre lot of land, west of on Clayton Road, at 1000-1272 Town and Country Crossing Dr.

"One of the houses literally looked to me like a barn," Ward 3 Alderman Steve Fons told Town and Country-Manchester Patch prior to the meeting. "To me they look prefab or modular in design. There is no architectural details on them."

The new home designs contain mostly siding.

Fons said he is concerned about the look of some of the houses because of city zoning ordinances that requires houses to be built of 90 percent rock and stone, another ordinance requiring houses to be built in at least one acre of land, and an ordinance that requires the garage to not face the front of the street.

The proposed houses, to be built by Pulte Homes, and designed by Stock and Associates, use a considerable amount of wood siding, are only 6 feet apart and have the garages facing the street.

"I think in tough housing-economic times there would be challenges to sell these houses," Fons said of the houses, expected to cost between $400,000 and $600,000. "It's tough enough to sell a quality product let alone a design that doesn't fit the area."

Fons said in Town and Country more expensive homes have sold well and he fears the lower priced homes will not sell well.

However, Ward 3 Alderman Fred Meyland-Smith, head of the Planning and Zoning Commission, told Town and Country-Manchester Patch that the new homes do comply with an ordinance passed specifically for the development of that area, which is under a special "Planned Mixed Use" zoning ordinance.

Under the permit, referred to as PMX, "development regulations provide the city with flexibility in consideration of residential uses with commercial uses and enable it to adjust development regulations to particular site conditions." 

Meyland-Smith said the houses therefore conform to the ordinance that established that piece of ground for residential development.

"We should always require certain standards such as green space, height elevation, setbacks, and we have done that in this case," Meyland-Smith said. "But it is inappropriate for city elected officials to begin to impose style preferences. Beyond that, I would say that the developer has expressed an openness to add additional architectural enhancements to make the individual residences look even more attractive."

Addressing the board Monday night, Christ Matted, vice president of Land Planning and Development for the Pulte Group, said the architects have made some changes in the color of the siding and are willing to make other small changes to the design. However, Matter said it is not realistic to do a complete redrawing of the architecture.

"Your comments are absolutely taken very well," Matted said. "We obviously want the community to look great. We certainly want to keep with the criteria of style in Town and Country."

Fons, however, expressed more concern to the subdivision developers and he was not alone. Ward Four Alderman Jon Benigas said the homes in the new development are "inconsistent" with other homes in Town and Country.

"My concern is that even with those changes, the look is simply not consistent with what's in the area around those homes," Benigas said. "Under the (PMX) ordinance you could put a purple house there, but it would still be inconsistent with the rest of the neighborhood."

In a 4-3 vote, the board moved the second reading of the bill for their Aug. 8 meeting. In the mean time, the land developers and architects will be in talks with the members of the board who are currently opposed to the home designs in order to reach a consensus.

Matted, from the Pulte Group, declined to comment to Patch after the meeting.

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