Palisade townhouse project back in front of the trustees | Western Colorado
A townhouse development near Palisade High School was back before the board this week for preliminary flat approval.
The development, which was previously called Bella Poliazotta and had an Italian theme, was renamed Stone Orchard Townhomes.
Kim Kerk, from Kim Kerk Land Consulting & Development, represented the developer at the meeting and said the new modern farm style would be more in line with other developments in the area.
“We got a lot of feedback from the city,” Kerk said. “We have received a lot of feedback from the Board of Directors and we appreciate this contribution. We went back to the drawing board and started with this new project now called Stone Orchard Townhomes.
Other changes included reducing the number of units on site from 18 to 14 and adding additional parking spaces.
“The concept plan reduced the number of units and made other adjustments to the project in response to previous reviews,” said Brian Rusche, director of community development. “These comments were then provided to the requester and they again incorporated it into their preliminary dish.”
The development will be accessed by Shiraz Drive and will have a cul-de-sac with the townhouses along three sides of the property. The developer now also proposes to hand over the street to the city after its construction.
Rusche said there were trade-offs between the city taking the road and leaving it private. He said that in either case, the utilities under the road would be public, which could require the city to perform road maintenance in either scenario.
“There is an initial benefit to it being immediately built to our standards,” said Rusche. “It is accepted for use by the public. Obviously, emergency vehicles would use it. That sort of thing.”
There was no public comment during the public hearing on the preliminary plaque.
Mayor Greg Mikolai raised concerns that neighbors to the south had previously commented on about the proximity and height of townhouses to neighbors.
Kerk said that according to the city code, townhouses have a lower height limit than single-family homes.
“The only thing I will point out is that the maximum height for townhouses in Palisade is 25 feet and the average house is 35 feet,” Kerk said. “So these aren’t really going to top the top. They’re going to be lower actually.
Development will have to come back to the Trustees for final approval of the platform.
This will include more detailed information. Kerk said they will also work with the city to identify drought-tolerant plants for use in landscaping.
The directors voted unanimously to approve the preliminary plaque.