2nd Street subdivision shifts street location

A new street layout has been OK’d for a planned subdivision along East Second Street.

City Council on June 1 approved an amendment to the preliminary plat for High Point on Second, the subdivision formally known as Second Street Residences.

Community Infill Partners are developing the 24-acre property to include 54 single family homes and eight townhouses.

The change allows for a street inside the subdivision, Ponderosa Court, to connect either with Armory Road or intersect with East Second Street.

The original plan called for the street to connect to Armory Road or to run east to an adjacent property and then connect with East Second Street farther to the east.

However, the developer found that the grade is too steep to the west to connect with the Armory Road extension and was also not able to work with the neighbor to the east to allow the street to be constructed through that property.

Jeff Swenson, project manager for the development, said the new design puts the road just beyond Armory Road and with reconstruction of the street it can now meet sight-distance requirements.

Neighbors of the project asked council to delay a decision until the change could be further examined.

“This is a very dangerous spot on the road,” Carol Nelson said. “People slide down that hill. That’s a nasty angle on that road. We need more time to look at what they’re proposing.”

“We ask you to delay the decision so we can study it more,” Barb Brandt said.

“This is our third time through with engineers and traffic engineers,” Swenson said. “We’re concerned about all the same things that the neighbors are. We’re doing the best we can. We’ve bent over backward to make sure this is a safe community.”

The city planning department originally was against connecting Ponderosa Court and East Second Street in a ‘T’ intersection at the location, however, since then East Second has been reconstructed. The sight distance concerns for residents exiting the subdivision and those traveling west bound on East Second appear to have changed, planning staff notes.

The new road location design will have to be approved by the city Public Works department.