AGENDA INFORMATION SHEET
DEPARTMENT: Department of Development Services
ACM: Jon Fortune
DATE: August 2, 2016
SUBJECT
Title
Consider approval of an Alternative Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) Plan for the Villages of Carmel Phase 4B. The subject property is generally located on the north side of Pockrus Page, east of Monte Verde Way, and west of Swisher Road. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommends approval (7-0).
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BACKGROUND
The subject property is located within Phase 4 of the Villages of Carmel, an approximately 45-acre property located on the north side of Pockrus Page Road which was rezoned in 2015 from a Neighborhood Residential Mixed Use (NRMU) District to a Neighborhood Residential 6 (NR-6) District to allow single-family development. Within Phase 4 there are two areas of potential environmental importance:
* Upland Habitat - At the northwest corner of the property is an area formerly located within an Upland Habitat ESA. This designation includes the remnants of the eastern Cross Timbers forest that are at least ten acres in size and requires that 50% of the ESA remain protected from residential development. The Upland Habitat ESA in Phase 4 was removed in 2008, however, after staff conducted a field assessment of the area it was determined that it did not meet the ten acre minimum acreage requirement to qualify as an ESA.
* Riparian Buffer - At the southeast corner of the property is the remnant of a stream which is designated as a Riparian Buffer ESA. This designation restricts development within either 50 or 100 feet of the centerline of streams, depending upon the size of basin that is drained. Staff conducted a field assessment of the stream in 2015 and confirmed the existence of a Riparian Buffer ESA in this area. Because the stream drains a basin of less than one square mile, protection against development extends only within 50 feet of the centerline of this stream.
The applicant is requesting to remove the Riparian Buff...
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