Commission hears variance request to allow 20-foot gravel section on Dry Ranch Road

The Planning Commission considered a variance that would allow a section of Dry Ranch Road in the Black Tooth Business Park subdivision to be improved as a 20-foot gravel lane rather than constructed to full city standards. City Planner Schroeder said the gravel option would meet engineered fire and emergency access requirements while avoiding immediate full curb-and-gutter construction in an area with mixed city/county ownership.

Schroeder explained the municipal code’s secondary-access hierarchy (Appendix B, Art. 5 §504(e)(1)): (1) construct another roadway; (2) connect to an adopted transportation corridor in the Transportation Master Plan; (3) secure an easement with engineered construction plans; or (4) as a last resort, request council approval with evidence of negotiations. "This section says that a secondary access can be either a physical construction of an additional roadway... or access by means of a physical connection to a transportation corridor shown in the adopted transportation master plan," Schroeder said.

Staff recommended approval of PL 26-34 to the governing body along with the requested variance, but made the recommendation contingent on recording the Heartland Drive right-of-way through Whitney Benefits prior to subdivision recording. Commissioners discussed long-range opportunities to extend Heartland to Brundage Lane and noted the county/city jurisdictional complexity north of Solutions Way; the commission’s recommendation includes the variance request as part of the forwarded approval.