MOUNT VERNON – The Mount Vernon City Council postponed a final vote on the Liberty Crossing housing development until its Monday, March 13, meeting to give more residents time to make comments and ask questions about the Newark Road planned neighborhood development.
Highland Real Estate proposed 477 residential units in single-family homes (93), patio homes (42), townhomes (112) and multi-family buildings (230) up to three stories tall. The property is south of downtown Mount Vernon on the western side of Newark Road, immediately south of the Mohaven subdivision and north of Irish Hills Golf Club. It’s a short distance south of the Blackjack Road-Newark Road intersection. An existing stream, Delano Run, runs along the western boundary for most of the 102-acre property.
Councilmember Mike Hillier said during Monday night's City Council meeting that he wanted residents to get assurances the construction of turning lanes for the development would not cause any other property owner’s land to be affected. The City Council approved his motion to postpone the third reading and final vote on the development until March 13. A 45-minute committee meeting will be held to hear from more residents and get more questions answered by the developer before the vote.
The Mount Vernon Planning Commission approved the development plan on Jan. 12.
Tim Burton, a Brookwood Road resident, raised concerns about how the development would affect more people than just its immediate neighbors on Newark Road, especially if the road is widened.
“It’s almost impossible to improve upon the way the property is set so close to it," he said. "If you are going to widen it then that impacts a lot of people.”
Burton said he drafted a letter about the project and walked up and down Newark Road, delivering it to about 100 doors.
City Engineer Brian Ball said two of three traffic studies have been completed by an independent consultant, with only a speed analysis from Rangeline Road up to Blackjack Road remaining. This section of the road has a 45 mph speed limit, which might not be correct even for today's traffic level, he said.
Ball said that in 2033 on Newark Road at Rangeline Road, residents can expect an additional 46 cars during peak time. If the site was 100% developed at that time, at Blackjack Road an additional 173 cars could be expected during the peak morning hours.
He recommends they require turn lanes from both directions, using the developer's acreage and right of way.
Human Resources internship approved
Human Resources Director Denise Johnson inadvertently jumped the gun on picking an intern for her office before the City Council approved the $11.50 an hour, 10 hours per week position.
Ball said he forwarded a student’s application for an engineering internship that seemed suited for HR to Johnson.
Law Director Rob Broeren said he explained to Johnson that she needed to wait for council approval after she got a little ahead of herself.
“We’ve had that discussion here earlier that it’s getting harder to get people to accept jobs before moving on," Councilmember Tammy Woods said. "But this is one of those ones that to create it for a specific person, there was concern that that might be the case."
The City Council approved the internship after voting to move it to its third and final reading.
City Council also approved the compensation for the wastewater superintendent at $74,000, and the assistant director of distribution and collection position at $64,480, but increasing to $66,950 once a Class II Collections license is obtained.
