The president of Charleston City Council wants to develop a seven-lot subdivision in a Kanawha City neighborhood.
Municipal Planning Commission granted a preliminary plat approval sought by City Councilman Tom Lane and his partner, Tom Graff, through their company, Graff-Lane Properties, LLC.
Lane presented the proposed subdivision to the commission on Wednesday, where he detailed plans to develop the site in the mountaintop Quarry Creek area, just south of the intersection of Graff Lane and Quarry Ridge South.
Only a few homes have been built in that area of Quarry Creek.
The preliminary approval was needed in order for Lane's company to begin work on a new road leading to the subdivision, which would end in a cul-de-sac with seven, one-story homes surrounding it.
The developers will also need to submit a stormwater plan, said Planning Director Dan Vriendt.
Planning Commission member J.D. Stricklen, the board's only nonvoting member, questioned whether the lots, all of which range from about a quarter-acre to half an acre, would be consistent with the other lots in the area.
Stricklen owns a lot across from where the proposed subdivision would be built.
"The lots you're developing average three-tenths of an acre. The lot I own across [from those lots] is four times that size," Stricklen said.
With the smaller lots, Lane said the homes would be marketed toward retirees and "might be a little bit smaller than what you see in Quarry Creek."
"We've already had an architect design the homes, and we have a footprint for each house," Lane said. All the homes will be designed with a first-floor master bedroom.
Lane added that the subdivision will be discreet, with the access road about 900 feet back from Quarry Ridge South.
Stricklen also noted the fact that, while Lane's proposed subdivision wasn't necessarily consistent with the existing homes in that section of Quarry Creek, Lane wasn't subject to nearly the level of scrutiny that Stricklen was last year, when he proposed a 10-home subdivision in South Hills at the corner of Bridge and Loudon Heights roads.
"I think he has the right to do this, I just want to make sure in the future, we keep this standard instead of [having] a witch hunt." Stricklen said.
The Planning Commission initially denied Stricklen's development proposal last year. Lane was a vocal opponent of the proposal at the time.
It wasn't until Stricklen sued the board and City of Charleston that the Planning Commission revisited and voted in favor of an amended proposal in August that brought the total number of homes down from 10 to nine.
The developers also will need to submit a detailed stormwater plan.
Once the infrastructure work is complete, Lane will need to go before the Planning Commission again for final approval before he can begin selling the lots.
Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of the proposal Wednesday, with member Mary Jean Davis abstaining.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.