Council OKs final plat

CELINA - City council members on Monday passed legislation approving a final plat for Eaglebrooke Estates VII, Phase 1 in northeast Celina after reaching an agreement with the developer about creating an access drive.

Councilors at the special meeting suspended the rules requiring three readings and passed the legislation as an emergency measure on its second reading.

Before approving the next phase of development of 15 lots, councilors had wanted the developer, Randy Bruns of RCS Construction, to address the issue of creating a road from the end of Eaglebrook Parkway east roughly 1,100 feet to Staeger Road. They argued a road is needed for emergency response vehicles to reach homes in the area and to divert construction vehicles and equipment from newly paved roads in the subdivision.

The original Eaglebrook dates back to 1994, mayor Jeff Hazel said. A majority of subdivisions in Celina, including Eaglebrook, have been completed in phases.

"This is normally how it's developed in our community as they go forward, and so he has done several sections in there with Eaglebrook Circle and then going on to Eaglebrook Drive on these last 15 lots," Hazel said.

Original plans from 1994 called for the completion of a road out to Staeger Road, Hazel said after the meeting. RCS purchased the development in 2010, Hazel said.

Eaglebrook Parkway stops about 1,100 feet short of Staeger Road, Hazel pointed out. RCS has about 400 more feet of property, and the rest of the land is owned by another entity.

"But there is a platted right-of-way that's recorded all the way to Staeger Road. They don't own property on either side of what that platted right-of-way is. The way developers build is they associate infrastructure costs to those lots," Hazel explained.

Concerns about the development lacking an access road to Staeger Road cropped up during recent Celina Planning Commission and city council meetings, prompting city officials to meet with Randy Bruns of RCS Construction on Monday morning.

Bruns reportedly agreed to create a stone drive from the end of Eaglebrook Parkway to Staeger Drive, Hazel told councilors.

"One of the concerns obviously was within the safety element of having an access drive to Staeger Road. We have come to terms with that. A stone drive will be put in sometime within the next several months," Hazel said.

Bruns on Monday night said plans will have to go through engineering but noted the stone drive could go in yet this fall if conditions are right. If not, the drive would go in sometime next year, weather permitting, Bruns said.

"We do believe this is a very workable situation. It resolves a lot of those concerns for the residents and the city," Hazel said.

Aside from these 15 lots and three more adjacent lots, legislation for which will be presented to council in the coming weeks, no other lots would be permitted in the subdivision unless a fully paved road is built, Hazel said.

"Nothing else can be built unless that road is completed but in the interim it will go down to a stone drive that will give the emergency access and construction (access)," Hazel said.

Councilors appeared satisfied with the agreement.

Councilman Mike Sovinski said he had two concerns relating to the ordinance at hand. He wanted to see an access drive built to the east to facilitate construction traffic as soon as possible and a firm commitment from the developer that the roadway would be completed to Staeger Road during future phases of development.

"The developer had indicated he will commit to both of those conditions," Sovinski said. "After the meeting this morning I feel much better about the situation."

The agreement reached with Bruns is a win all the way around, Hazel insisted.

"We look forward to continuing this because quite frankly we need the housing, and we certainly want the developer to continue," Hazel said. "He does a very nice job for our community and I think that this is also a really good way that we are supporting that. We want to encourage people to do this."