Superior commission recommends rezoning Zaharias Property for up to 226 homes
The 9-0 recommendation includes up to 34 permanently affordable homes, but Town Council approval and later development reviews are still required.
The Superior Planning Commission voted 9-0 Sept. 1 to recommend rezoning the vacant Zaharias Property for up to 226 for-sale homes, including as many as 34 permanently deed-restricted affordable homes. The recommendation goes to the Town Council, which must hold its own public hearing and make the final decision.
The proposal would amend the Rock Creek Ranch Planned Development Plan for about 22.68 acres at 7500 S. 88th St. It would change the site from Regional Activity Center zoning to a site-specific Residential 2-A framework capped at 10 homes per acre. The plan calls for up to 110 detached single-family homes and 116 townhomes, with detached units making up at least 45% of the development, according to the town’s planning packet.
The commission added a 45-foot, three-story height limit. The formal resolution requires minor technical and redline corrections identified by town staff before final plans are executed and recorded, the adopted resolution says. The recommendation does not authorize construction.
At maximum density, at least 15% of the homes — up to 34 — would be permanently deed-restricted for households earning no more than 80% of the area median income. The developer estimates qualifying three-bedroom homes could sell for about $343,000 under current assumptions, while four-bedroom homes would remain below $400,000. Those are estimates, not guaranteed prices.
Garrett Companies is seeking about $2.3 million in town and metropolitan-district fee relief as part of its financing plan. The hearing record does not show that the commission separately approved the waiver. The final number, distribution and administration of the affordable homes would be addressed in later approvals.
The developer also intends to seek approval for one or more metropolitan districts and to raise the maximum authorized debt-service levy from 25 mills to 50 mills. That change would authorize a future district to levy up to 50 mills for debt service; it would not itself create a district, impose a levy or establish homeowners’ bills.
Town staff said the higher maximum could increase future residents’ property-tax burden, but the available records do not calculate an annual dollar amount or effective tax rate. Any district service plan, code amendment and actual levy would require separate Town Council proceedings. The developer said district financing would support eligible infrastructure and gap funding and acknowledged that a higher levy could increase taxes while potentially lowering purchase prices.
The proposal includes two full-movement access points on S. 88th Street, aligned with Promenade Drive and Weldona Way, plus a southern emergency-only access. It also calls for a traffic signal at Promenade Drive and turn lanes for traffic entering and leaving the property. The applicant said it would fund the improvements, but the hearing did not establish when the signal would be built.
A May traffic analysis projects about 1,762 vehicle trips per average weekday and generally acceptable roadway operations through 2030. It projects that some westbound left-turn movements could reach level of service E or F by 2050, largely because of background growth on S. 88th Street, the traffic study says.
The plan retains a 100-foot undisturbed development and disturbance buffer along Hodgson-Harris Reservoir. It includes a public trail and overlook outside the buffer, stormwater controls and lighting of less than 1.0 foot-candle along the buffer’s northern edge. The proposal also includes about 45% open space, counting natural areas, wetlands, the reservoir buffer, a central park and private open-space areas. The hearing record does not show a final decision on how open space will be counted or whether proposed town conveyances have been completed.
Prairie-dog relocation is tentatively targeted for around Sept. 1, 2027, subject to finding a suitable receiving site. If no site is available, the applicant said the project would follow town code.
The Town Council hearing date has not been identified in the available records. Later steps include review of a final planned-development plan, final plat, site plan, drainage and utility details, affordable-housing administration, a development agreement and any metropolitan-district service plan. The council could approve, modify or reject the commission’s recommendation.