Bella Terra, a 99-home subdivision to be built at the northwest corner of Vogel and Old Lemay Ferry roads, is part of the area the city of Arnold is trying to annex this summer.
City residents will be asked on Aug. 6 to vote on whether Arnold may annex land that runs along the two roads southwest of the current city limits.
Only Arnold residents will vote on the proposed annexation because no registered voters currently reside in the area the city wants to annex.
A simple majority of Arnold voters is needed for approval.
The six land parcels targeted for annexation total approximately 99.87 acres.
The Jefferson County Council agreed last July to rezone the 38.46 acres that will eventually be home to the Bella Terra subdivision to planned single family residential.
City Administrator Bryan Richison said the development would not change much if voters approved the annexation.
“Everything that has been approved by the county, we would honor, basically,” Richison said. “At this point, what would be left is building permits when they actually build it. Everything else has already been approved. All they would need to get from us would be building permits when they build each house.”
Richison said the city would ensure Arnold Police patrol the subdivision, and the city’s Building and Code Compliance Division’s regulations would apply to the subdivision.
“It would be just like any other subdivision that’s currently in the city,” he said.
Planning and zoning
On June 13, the county P and Z commission voted unanimously to approve a preliminary plat for Bella Terra.
Dennis Kehm Jr., the deputy director of the Department of County Services and Code Enforcement, said the vote on the preliminary plat was mostly ministerial, since the commission and the county council previously approved a development plan for the subdivision that included the same information
He said the preliminary plat was up for approval to ensure it was in line with the development plan and with the county’s unified development ordinance (UDO).
County planner Rachel Krispin said single-family residential lots must be a minimum of 7,200 square feet, with a minimum lot width of 50 feet.
The Bella Terra lots range in size from 7,200 to 11,000 square feet.
“The development provides a variety of lot sizes for new single-family homes that are in line with the standards set forth by the UDO under the PR1 zone district,” Krispin said.
She said the subdivision has one main access point from Vogel Road, a county-maintained road.