Superior Planning Commission to consider rezoning for up to 226 Zaharias Property homes

The Superior Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing Sept. 1 on a proposed rezoning that could allow up to 226 for-sale homes on the vacant Zaharias Property: 110 detached homes and 116 townhomes. No available prehearing record shows that the commission has acted. The commission’s agenda lists the hearing for 6 p.m. at Town Hall, with remote participation available.

The application would amend Section 25 of the Rock Creek Ranch Planned Development Plan for about 22.68 acres at 7500 S. 88th St. It would change the property’s designation from Regional Activity Center to a site-specific Residential 2-A framework capped at 10 dwelling units per acre. The commission is scheduled to recommend action to the Town Council, which would make the final decision after its own public hearing, the town’s meeting packet says.

Town staff recommends that the commission recommend approval if the application meets the applicable planned-development criteria. The recommendation is conditional on minor technical and redline corrections and submission of a final planned-development plan before documents are executed and recorded. It is not a commission decision.

At maximum density, the proposal would include at least 34 permanently deed-restricted affordable for-sale homes, or 15% of the total, for households earning no more than 80% of area median income. The applicant estimates that fee and use-tax waivers for those units could total about $2.3 million. The final number, distribution and administrative details would be addressed through later approvals. The developer also proposes to reimburse the town $1,337,990.81 for previously completed S. 88th Street improvements when the first building permit is issued, the project narrative says.

The proposal would preserve a 100-foot development and disturbance buffer along Hodgson-Harris Reservoir. An eight-foot public trail and overlook would be located outside the buffer. Plans also include a central park, pedestrian connections and stormwater controls intended to keep runoff from impervious areas out of the reservoir. Final trail, drainage, landscaping and construction details would remain subject to later review, according to the submitted plan sheets.

Traffic access is another issue for later review. The applicant proposes two full-movement intersections on S. 88th Street at Promenade Drive and Weldona Way, plus an emergency-only access. The plans call for a traffic signal at Promenade Drive and southbound and westbound left-turn lanes at the project accesses. A May 2026 traffic analysis projects about 1,762 vehicle trips on an average weekday and generally acceptable operations, but says some westbound left-turn movements could operate at level of service E or F by 2050 because of background growth on S. 88th Street, the traffic study says.

If the commission recommends approval, the Town Council would hold a separate noticed public hearing and could approve, modify or reject the amendment. Rezoning alone would not authorize construction. The packet identifies later steps including a final planned-development plan, final plat and site-plan review, drainage and utility review, affordable-housing administration, public-improvement financing and a development agreement.

The developer also intends to pursue one or more metropolitan districts and proposes eligibility for a future debt-service levy of up to 50 mills, compared with the current 25-mill authorization limit. The amendment would not create a district, approve a service plan or impose a tax. Each would require separate proceedings and Town Council approval.

The Sept. 1 hearing is the next scheduled decision point, not the completion of the rezoning process. The available prehearing records do not establish whether the commission will recommend approval or what vote, if any, will occur.