A large subdivision currently being built in the Springdale area may get a little bit bigger.
The Jefferson County Planning Commission voted unanimously April 25 to recommend rezoning of a 11.22-acre parcel in unincorporated Fenton that would add 32 lots to the Winding Bluffs development.
The commission also voted to approve a preliminary plat for the addition to the subdivision.
The County Council, which has the authority to rezone land in unincorporated areas, will likely take the first of three required votes on the rezoning request at a meeting in May, but it does not have to approve the preliminary plat.
The main entrance to Winding Bluffs is on 13th Street off Hwy. 141. The subdivision is near Guffey Elementary School and the Northeast Public Sewer District treatment facility.
Catherine Moore, who represented McBride Guffey LLC of Chesterfield, said that 150 homes in the original 320-lot Winding Bluffs layout had been sold as of late March.
“This has been one of our most successful developments,” Moore said. “This (11.22-acre parcel) has been for sale for years, and we were only recently able to get it under contract. This will be a good addition.”
The homes that may be built on the additional parcel would be the same as those in the larger site and priced from the low $200,000s to $500,000, she said.
She said the Winding Bluffs Homeowners Association has agreed to take in the addition, which would be absorbed into the larger subdivision.
Some residents of Winding Bluffs questioned whether the subdivision streets could handle additional traffic generated by the extra homes. Access to the new area would be through the subdivision.
“My biggest concern is that on the main road (of the subdivision), through the weekend and after school, there are up to 20 kids playing on the street,” said Ryan McNabb, a Winding Bluffs Way resident.
Jamie Duvall, who lives on the same street, echoed those concerns.
“We were led to believe that this was not a through street,” she said. “This may be less than 1 percent increase in traffic overall, but it’s on our street.”
Les Eyman, who owns a home on Winding Bluffs Court, said he was concerned about future development in the area connecting with Winding Bluffs streets and turning the subdivision into a thoroughfare.
“I don’t want our subdivision to connect to another subdivision and then eventually connect with Saline Road,” he said. “I want to keep our community safe and self-contained.”
Josh Gage, who lives on Winding Bluffs Way, also took a larger view.
“There are already several red lights that are run on Hwy. 141,” he said. “Now we’re looking to add at least 64 more cars to the congestion?”
Moore said the only access point to the 11.22-acre lot is through the subdivision. “The access to this lot has always been through Winding Bluffs,” she said. “Whether it’s McBride who purchases it and develops it or someone else, the access will be through Winding Bluffs. When the (original) subdivision was planned, a stub street was designed rather than a cul-de-sac to account for this situation.
“I understand the frustration of the current residents who are used to the way things are now to not want them to change, but this is the way that Winding Bluffs was designed,” she said.