Planning commission backs Timnath Shores sketch plan after questions on culverts, access and buffers

The Timnath Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the Timnath Shores sketch plan for a 76‑acre site at the southeast corner of County Road 3E and County Road 42E, advancing the project to the preliminary‑plat stage.

Planner Lindsay, presenting staff’s analysis, said the sketch plan ‘‘establishes the overall framework’’ for future subdivision plotting and that staff ‘‘recommends approval of the Timnath Shores sketch plan to the town council with the condition to allow staff to work with the owner/applicant to address minor modifications prior to final signatures.’’ The town’s recommendation is limited to conceptual issues; detailed engineering for utilities, drainage and road improvements will be reviewed at preliminary plat.

Applicant Ken Merritt (JR Engineering) summarized the concept: three planning areas (PA1, PA2 and an estate PA3) consistent with recently adopted comp‑plan amendments and R‑2/RE zoning. Merritt noted the site’s maximum permitted density under current zoning could yield up to 229 dwelling units but said the project team expects a substantially lower count after buffers and amenities are incorporated. ‘‘We could achieve 229 units… but I believe probably somewhere around 20 to 25% less than that, overall,’’ Merritt said, later estimating ‘‘somewhere between 175 to 180 units’’ as a likely outcome.

Commissioners focused on infrastructure and adjacency issues. Commissioner Tom Wood pressed whether major structures—specifically two box culverts replacing an old wooden crossing of the Poudre Canal and a Lake Canal crossing—would be completed before building homes. Merritt replied that the culverts ‘‘will be done concurrent with the development because we’ll need secondary vehicle access… so it’ll be one of the earlier things we do.’’ Staff reiterated that final culvert design, utility extensions and traffic mitigation will be subjects of required studies at the preliminary‑plat stage, including a Transportation Impact Study (TIS).

Neighbors and commissioners raised questions about emergency access, road realignment, and potential impacts to existing ditch rights, wells and above‑ground utilities. Merritt and staff described several mitigation measures: realigning County Road 3E to improve safety and create residual tracts that the developer said could be deeded to adjacent owners as buffer; an enhanced 25‑foot landscape buffer along County Road 3E; and a 50‑foot minimum natural habitat buffer along the Timnath Reservoir shoreline. Staff noted right‑of‑way vacations and any private deeding would require separate legal processes and, in the case of right‑of‑way assignment, would follow state law.

Planner Lindsay and other staff cautioned that several items remain unresolved at the sketch stage and will be vetted at preliminary plat, including final lot configurations, emergency access details, drainage and utility placements, and the TIS scope. Commissioners asked staff to convey the outstanding adjacency concerns to town council when the plan moves forward.

After discussion, a motion to approve the sketch plan recommendation was moved and seconded and carried on a recorded 4‑0 vote. The approval allows the applicant to proceed to preliminary plat, where the town will require technical studies and final engineering before the development can move toward construction.