Iron Ridge, another new housing development that someday will have 300 to 500 homes, received Lincoln City Council approval Monday.
The city agreed to annex about 218 acres south of Rokeby Road on both the east and west sides of 27th Street and make zoning changes necessary for the housing development.
That annexation pushes the city boundaries to within a mile of the proposed South Beltway, which will connect U.S. 77 south of Saltillo Road to Nebraska 2 near 120th Street and Rokeby Road.
The new housing will be 10 minutes from the nearest ambulance (at 48th Street and Claire Avenue) and six minutes from the nearest fire equipment (27th Street and Old Cheney Road), Councilwoman Leirion Gaylor Baird pointed out.
Gaylor Baird consistently asks about emergency response times for new subdivisions in an effort to point out the need to plan for future fire stations as the city grows and to help future homeowners become informed.Ìý
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Part of the area is in a floodplain and the development will have a large conservation easement. In addition, the developer, Apples Way LLC, will convert row crops to tallgrass prairie, which will help reduce flooding and improve the quality of run-off water, the council was told in a public hearing last week.
The developer will pay $1 million toward construction of floodplain bridge crossings on South 40th Street, reimbursable later by city impact fees.
The payment is intended to speed construction of the bridges, which will enhance police and fire services's ability to get into the development from the north, according to annexation agreement information.Ìý
The city will also place signs on 27th Street and Rokeby Road where water sometimes overtops the streets, as a way to warn motorists and future homeowners.
The council agreed to remove language from the annexation agreement requiring the developer to notify all property owners that frequent and minor rainfall storm events will cause flooding and overtopping along the two roads.
Instead, the planning department recommended the city put signs on the roads, assuring people are aware of the flooding situation.
All homes to be built in the area are out of the floodplain, said Steve Henrichsen, with the Planning Department.Ìý