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Lancaster City Council
2/12/24 | Lancaster Estates | 82-Unit Mixed-use
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February 12, 2024
82-Unit Mixed-use | 2301 West Main Street | Approved
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Lancaster Estates 2301 West Main St
West Lancaster | 17.98 Acres | 82 Units | Approved
Individual developer Muhammad Naeem M.D. presented his development plan for his 82-unit product with a sole focus on the tax revenue it would generate for the City of Lancaster. Council Member Mejia dissected Naeem’s presentation, asking about the $180/SF home price and the tax rate that was used to give figures in his presentation.
‟$180/SF is great for you, as a business person, but it's not going to help us as a City of Lancaster because we know a house has to appraise for over roughly $400,000 to $500,000 to break even.
So we're not making a profit for all of them. For all of the overhead, we have to provide to the citizens of the house, fire department, police department, things like that, that's kind of where our issue is.
Council Member Marco Mejia also pointed out that the tax rate Naeem was using to calculate the tax return for the City was wrong. His presentation used 0.87 but Mejia clarified the Lancaster tax rate is 0.63. Other Council Members also pressed on this issue.
‟Clarify the price range that you're talking about again, please, on the properties.
Naeem highlighted the various attributes that would increase the property value of surrounding residences “a lot.”
‟This will be a very high value property because we are planting trees.
After pleading his case about the good that will come from the product, Naeem highlighted the strenuous process it took to get here.
‟We are not asking for zoning change. We are just saying that we have gone through six times. We have wasted, lost, one year and now it is approved.
More Information on the Project:
The proposed development is a residential community called Lancaster Estates consisting of 182 units across 17.98 acres of land currently zoned Agricultural Open (AO). It falls within the Mills Branch Overlay zone, which allows a mix of housing types including village homes, cottages, townhomes and alley-loaded products. The developer, Thrive Builders LLC, submitted a General Development Plan (DP22-26) to approve building within this overlay zone.
The project has been through an iterative design process over 2 years, with the original plan changed 6 times to meet all city requirements related to roads, open space, landscaping, architectural standards, etc. as dictated by the Mills Branch Overlay district guidelines. 51.2% of the units are larger Cottage homes ranging from 1,600 to 2,600 square feet. 25.6% are smaller Townhome style units of around 1,674 square feet. The remaining 23.2% are Village homes. All units have architectural features like porches, stoops, bay windows and masonry chimneys in compliance with overlay standards.
The proposed development adds 12 ft and 6 ft wide hiking and biking trails connected to the city's trail system. 31.2% of the site is dedicated green space, far exceeding the 10% requirement. There is a 40 ft tree preservation parkway buffer along Main Street with 250 new trees to meet city reforestation policies. Overall, the plan aligns with the goals of interconnected neighborhoods, community spaces and architectural standards envisioned for the overlay district.
Initially when submitted for review in January 2023, there were 3 letters opposing the development related to traffic, noise, property values and crime. After the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval on April 4, 2023 due to alignment with overlay requirements, 3 additional letters of opposition were received. The developer addressed concerns about added traffic (less than 600 additional daily trips from 182 homes), existing tree preservation (80% of non-protected trees will remain), potential erosion (strict erosion control plans per state law) and home pricing catering to professionals ($400K-$600K target sale range).
The Lancaster City Council approved the case, with Mejia being the sole CM opposed.
Developer: Thrive Builders, LLC, Muhammad Naeem M.D., Phone: (574) 339-0361 Email: n[email protected]
Staff Report: DP22-26 SR
Project Plans: DP22-26 Plan
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