A new 121-home subdivision development near the intersection of Old Lemay Ferry and Vogel roads, just outside Arnold, got the green light from the Rock Community Fire Protection to begin building.
However, Rock Fire said its approval is contingent on Jefferson County amending its agreement with McBride Homes, formed when the County Council approved the development on Feb. 23.
In late February, Rock Fire denied a request from McBride Homes for the Bella Terra Addition subdivision until the developer could find a solution to the steep grade of a secondary access road.
Chief Kevin Wingbermuehle said the secondary access road, Black Oak Drive, has a 17 percent grade. Under the fire code, he said roads cannot exceed a 10 percent grade; any grade over 10 percent would make it difficult for emergency vehicles to access homes. According to the fire code, roads must also meet requirements for width, angle of approach and departure, and maintenance.
Bella Terra Addition is planned to connect to another McBride project that is under construction, called Bella Terra. That subdivision will have 99 homes, with the primary access road connecting to Vogel Road.
On April 23, the Rock Fire Board of Directors voted 2-0 to rescind its prior denial and approve McBride’s proposed secondary emergency access road connecting to the Huntington Glen subdivision, also a McBride development, at Cyprus Creek Lane.
Jeremy Roth, McBride’s senior vice president of land development, said a gate will be installed on Cyprus Creek Lane, which can only be accessed by emergency vehicles via a Knox Box. The Knox Box is a system that allows first responders to quickly open a gate in the event of an emergency, activated by the sound of sirens. Bella Terra residents will not be able to use Cyprus Creek Lane to access their homes, he said.
“We think this is a win-win for everybody to add another connection point to the stub street coming out of Huntington Glen,” Roth said. “It provides that third emergency access and overcomes the Black Oak access that is at 17 percent (grade) in excess of the 10 percent in the fire code.”
Board president Dan Meyer said the final approval is contingent on Jefferson County’s approval of the new gated access at Cyprus Creek Lane. The Cyprus Creek Lane access road was not considered in the plans that the County Council voted to approve on Feb. 23.
County Services Director Mitch Bair said McBride’s revised development plan must again go before the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission and then will need to be voted on again by the County Council before the developer can finally put shovels to dirt.
Fire Marshal Jeff DeLapp brought up several concerns with McBride’s gate solution. He said Rock Fire’s codes don’t allow gates between subdivisions because the district has had issues in the past with access. The emergency access gate would need to be added to the Bella Terra Homeowner’s Association trust indentures if it’s to be allowed by the district, DeLapp said.
“I would need something from Huntington Glen as well, which says they will never put blockades up to keep people from coming in,” he added. “I need a letter saying they would never block that street. We have had that issue.”
Jeannie Aumiller, McBride president and general counsel, said Huntington Glen’s streets are publicly dedicated, meaning homeowners are not allowed to block the streets.
“They are publicly dedicated streets open for public use,” she said. “That publicly dedicated street goes to our boundary. I would strongly suggest that you do not need a letter from them. It would be like asking them for a letter saying they can’t block the streets today.”
“I deal with this quite a bit,” responded DeLapp. “I have been working here for a long time. We have had issues in the past, and we have had counsel and the chiefs deal with it as well. We have had people blocking streets with concrete blocks. It becomes a legal issue between us and the homeowner. We want to deter that. Even though they can’t do that, we still have to deal with it.”
Wingbermuehle acknowledged that illegal street barricades aren’t necessarily a problem for McBride to solve.
“It is a battle for us to address that, but in all fairness, that is not your problem,” he said to the McBride representatives. “We are all trying to work toward a solution that works for everybody.”
Reporter Tony Krausz contributed to this story.