WILMINGTON — The Wilmington City Planning Commission has approved the preliminary map of an expansion to the Timber Glen residential subdivision.
Timber Glen’s Phase 6 has 229 single-family lots on 74 total acres, including 12.5 acres of open space. The entrance to Timber Glen is on Truesdell Street (SR 730), just east of Holmes Elementary.
Etta Reed, a representative of the engineering and surveying firm Bayer Becker out of Mason, presented the general layout of the expansion plans to city planning commission. She said this further development involves connecting to several existing street stubs in the Timber Glen subdivision.
All streets and utilities will be public, said Reed.
Paul Goodhue, the consultant city engineer, said the new streets will be narrower.
The current city standard would recommend 36 feet of asphalt, said Goodhue, and city officials’ guidance for this Phase 6 is to go with 32 feet.
There are several reasons, according to Goodhue and Wilmington Mayor John Stanforth.
Goodhue said “it’s a changing philosophy,” adding it is a better use for right-of-ways overall.
Narrower streets provide adjacent residents more frontage green space, and gives the city a spot to place utilities so that when utilities maintenance work has to be done, the city can tear up a yard at a much lower cost than a paved street.
Narrower streets also mean the developer saves money building streets, while long-term the city saves money on maintenance costs, said Goodhue.
Another advantage, said the mayor, is with allowing parking on both sides of a street, that will cause traffic to slow down when motorists meet vehicles coming the opposite direction, “and that’s what we want to do here.”
The term for it is “traffic calming”, said the engineer.
Another benefit, said Stanforth, relates to stormwater runoff, thanks to more grass and less impervious pavement.
Goodhue said, “We think it’s an appropriate 2020s solution.”
Of the plans to have utilities under ground rather than under street pavement, Wilmington City Planning Commission member David Hockaday asked what the city posture will be regarding returning yards to their original condition.
According to Stanforth, excavated dirt will be put back in the hole. Homeowners are going to have a mound there the first year until seasonal rains come, he said.
Also in connection with Phase 6 streets, the mayor said the city is going to require streets be built better than in the past through the use of more asphalt and less stone.
“Streets should last longer,” said Stanforth.
Sidewalks in Phase 6 will be at least five feet wide.
City of Wilmington Service & Safety Director Brian Shidaker said the biggest concern he hears about Timber Glen’s Phases 1 through 5 are about the common green spaces, and who’s going to maintain them.
Reed said that should not be an issue, through establishing a Home Owners Association to take care of those open spaces.
The Phase 6 land owner is Hunters Properties LLC (Joseph H. Sodini) of the Wilmington area, and the developer is JA Development LLC out of West Chester.
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.
