The Oregon Village Board approved an "Assumption Agreement" Monday in which Oregon Community Bank & Trust assumes ownership and development obligations of the South Pointe Condominium project in the Alpine Meadows subdivision on the village's west side.
The bank will also take over development of the Drumlin Addition nearby.
Last year, the bank "took back" the South Pointe Condominium project and the Drumlin Addition from developer Chuck Buell. The bank plans to develop 17 conventional, single-family lots in place of an earlier plan that called for 54 condominium units. The plan initially called for 72 condominiums; 18 have been built, but only seven have been sold.
"We've decided we don't want to continue to build condos," Jerry Luebke, president of Oregon Community Bank & Trust, told the Planning Commission last week.
Luebke appeared at last Thursday's Planning Commission meeting and again Monday at the Village Board meeting to discuss the bank's proposed revision to the Drumlin/South Pointe plats.
In 2007, village officials approved plans for the Drumlin Addition that were presented by Buell Investments LLC. The Development Agreement reached then will now be assumed by Oregon Community Bank & Trust, which owns the property within the Drumlin/South Pointe Condominium plat except for the seven condominiums that have been sold.
Luebke said the bank will begin developing a second phase of Drumlin Drive this summer, along with the infrastructure to develop the single-family lots.
Because the street will be privately owned by a homeowners association, it will be exempt from some of the standards applied to public streets in the village. For example, the street will be more narrow and will have sidewalk on only one side. And instead of conventional streetlights used on most streets, smaller private streetlights will be installed.
Village officials noted that one benefit of developing single-family lots instead of condominiums will be a reduction of impervious-surface area in the neighborhood, resulting in less stormwater runoff.
Luebke said the percentage of impervious surface in the development will be reduced by nearly half.
An initial draft of what's being called the Prairie Grass Addition where the single family lots will be developed showed narrow streets with no sidewalk or streetlights.
Several members of the Planning Commission, including Greg Schnelle and Larry Mahr, insisted there be some sidewalk for the sake of pedestrian safety, along with some form of lighting.
Planning Commission member Scott Meier said the developer would need to establish some basic standards "so that we don't have individual homeowners coming in desiring different setbacks and first floor elevations and things like that. We would want to plat that out, as well as master site grading and minimum first floor elevations so we don't get a hodge-podge of ideas."
Public works director Mark Below said the developer will need to come back with more specific plans prior to beginning construction this summer.
