Crews have begun work at the site of the former Woodside Village Mobile Home Park in Covington.
Residents of the mobile home park moved out in the fall of 2006 after DR Horton, a developer based out of Fort Worth, Texas, that has properties in more than two dozen states, put in a preliminary plat application in June 2006 for the development of 146 lots, according to Salina Lyons, senior planner for the city of Covington.
For nearly four years, though, the property has been fenced off. The 17.5 acre site was zoned for R-8, or eight units per acre, and has been dubbed Cornerstone by DR Horton.
In June 2006, Covington’s Community Development Department deemed the application for the project, which is just west of Cedar Heights Middle School, complete.
A year ago the hearing examiner reviewed the application.
“During the review the development was modified to 104 lots,” Lyons said in an e-mail. “A public hearing before the hearing examiner was held on Sept. 17. The development underwent engineering review, which includes clearing and grading, and was issued a Notice to Proceed with Construction on June 18, 2010.”
According to the hearing examiner’s written decision, “no testimony was entered into the record by the general public either in support of or in opposition to the application.”
In the hearing examiner’s decision it states there are no environmentally critical areas and that the proposed plans depict development of Cornerstone happening in two phases.
During the extensive application review period, the written decision stated, significant work was done to resolve traffic related issues such as where a second access point could be located for the site and what would need to happen to minimize traffic impacts.
Ultimately, the document said, DR Horton reduced the number of units from 146 to 104 to resolve concurrency — in other words, the number of vehicle trips that would be generated from 104 single-family dwellings matches the number of vehicle trips that were generated by the 109 mobile homes.
In addition, Covington issued a public works standards variance to allow a remotely controlled, gated emergency access from Southeast 267th Street instead of a full-use second access point.
The city’s Community Development Department recommended approval of Cornerstone subject to 60 recommended conditions, the document states, including developing a service agreement with Fire District 37, the Covington Water District and the Soos Creek Water and Sewer District as well “provide a pedestrian connection from the development to Cedar Heights (Middle School).”
