DUNCAN – A developer who is planning to build duplexes at 4179 N. Highway 81 in Duncan recently cleared his first hurdle.
The Duncan City Council voted June 24 to approve Cramton Construction’s request to rezone the property at 4179 N. Highway 81 from an agricultural district (A-1) to a two-family residential district (R-2) with a planned unit development overlay. A planned unit development overlay is a special zoning district which allows a more flexible approach to land use control if greater flexibility is necessary to achieve a higher-quality development.
The city’s comprehensive plan shows that the area is suitable for multifamily residential development, and Cramton’s proposal is consistent with recommendations for future land use, said City Manager Chris Deal. He added that the city’s Planning Commission considered Cramton’s request and concluded that the R-2 zoning classification with a PUD overlay was appropriate, since it would allow the developer to build a multi-unit duplex housing addition while protecting nearby single-family developments.
“The commission also discussed drainage, screening and the protection of the natural drainways and ecosystems in the area,” Deal said. “Hearing no other comments from the applicant or citizens, the Planning Commission made a motion to send a favorable recommendation to you, the city council, for this request.”
Some people in the audience said they were concerned about the proposed development’s potential impact on the environment.
The area around the development has a well-established ecosystem, which includes two detention ponds, said Duncan resident Christina Windley. She said she worried that construction would lead to the degradation and loss of those ponds.
“Our concern is for the city of Duncan to consider, to please consider, that Mr. Cramton provide a protective easement toward the back of that property,” Windley said, referring to Cramton Construction President Lance Cramton. “That will help maintain the vegetation, the trees and that habitat and reduce some of those potential flooding impacts that will result from flattening the land for building.”
Windley said Cramton had told the Planning Commission that he would allow an easement and fencing at the back of the development, which would protect the bonds and help preserve the Windleys’ privacy.
“We’re asking Mr. Cramton if that is still truly intended as part of the development plan,” she said.
Cramton confirmed that he will take steps to protect the ponds and the area’s ecosystem.
“I can’t flood any property,” he said. “It’s illegal. So if it requires a retention pond, which was back there, then that would be developed as well.”
Community Development Director Nate Schacht said an in-house board, which includes Schacht and other city officials, reviews development proposals like Cramton’s to ensure they meet the city’s requirements.
“As part of that application process, they will have to provide us an engineer’s statement or design showing how they intend to handle the additional runoff from the new hard surface in that area,” Schacht said.
State law and city codes both say that the areas where water enters and leaves Cramton’s property must remain the same and the rate of flow cannot change, Schacht said.
“So as he creates an additional hard surface, he’ll have to retain that somehow on his property but release it at the same location where it currently releases,” he said. ‘Leaving everything together’ “Are these going to be rental properties, or are they going to be sold, kind of like condos?” Councilman Jimmy Peters asked.
Cramton said he will completely own the duplexes, and they will be sold together if he ever decides to sell them. He added that he originally wanted the city to rezone the property as a general residential district, also known as R-3, which would have allowed him to leave the duplexes together.
“I think it’s a better idea leaving everything together, because say I do 20 and I sell 20 of them,” Cramton said. “You’ve got 20 different landlords that may switch to low income or may not keep up the property. If it’s left together, you’ve got one person making sure everything’s taken care of.”
Cramton told Southwest Ledger that he is planning to build a series of three-bedroom, two-bathroom duplexes at the site, but he has not decided how many duplexes will be built nor has he determined how much he will charge for rent.