The requests were submitted by developer Carriage Trails Co. LLC and landowner GLJ Holding Company.
City council will hold a public hearing on the matter later this month, according to Assistant City Manager and City Planner Aaron Sorrell. Council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Sept. 23.
The site in question is located immediately north of the existing Carriage Trails neighborhood in southern Miami County, just south of U.S. 40 and west of Brandt Pike.
If the rezoning request is approved, the acreage would be zoned a Planned Mixed-Use District, which would allow for the additional option to develop commercial spaces in the areas nearest U.S. 40 in the future, documents show.
Construction of the housing would take place over a 10- to 15-year period and be completed in phases, similar to that of Carriage Trails I.
Phase one of the Carriage Trails II project will involve the southernmost portion of the 296 acres, which immediately borders Carriage Trails I.
Construction on this initial phase is likely to begin within the next year, according to a staff report from the city’s planning department.
Housing built throughout the entire project area will be similar in design to that of Carriage Trails I, application documents state.
Those against the annexation and subdivision expansion have long expressed frustration and worry about the potential overcrowding of Bethel schools if hundreds more homes are built on the annexed property. They have also questioned whether adequate public services would be provided to the annexed land, and disliked the loss of a rural feel many associate with Bethel Twp.
As part of a pre-annexation agreement approved alongside the annexation in July, the developer agreed to donate 16 to 18 acres of land in the Carriage Trails II development for construction of a new school and public park, along with 2.5 acres in the Carriage Trail I development, subject to the homeowners’ association, for a new fire station.
Mayor Jeff Gore said Wednesday city staff is expected to meet with Bethel Local Schools board members to discuss options for the proposed new school.
“I know we are willing to do that and expect to do that; I can’t speak for the board, but it is my hope they want to meet with us, as well,” Gore said.
Officials of Bethel schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the potential for a new school in this area or whether they plan to meet with Huber Heights officials.
Multiple members of the Bethel Local School District Board of Education have previously spoken out against the annexation, citing overcrowding concerns.
The estimated exact number of individual housing units proposed for Carriage Trails II — which may include multi-family housing, like apartments and townhomes, as well as both one- and two-story single-family homes — is dependent on several variables, including open space and density requirements, along with land set aside for the proposed park and school.
Documents show the maximum residential gross density permitted in the development would not exceed seven dwelling units per acre, however this total would take into account land occupied by public rights-of-way, dedicated green space, and any other non-residential uses.
“The higher density allowance does provide opportunity for smaller units that might appeal to empty nesters or more compact development in the future,” Sorrell said Wednesday.
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