By Jeff Pieters
jpieters@postbulletin.com
Rochester planners have completed work on special zoning regulations for a 391-acre development on the city's western edge.
The City Planning and Zoning Commission in July approved general plans for the development, named Pebble Creek, but wanted extra time to review the hand-crafted zoning regulations that would determine the manner in which the development would be built.
Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the zoning provisions. The matter requires city council approval.
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Developer Western Walls, Inc. proposes a blend of housing and business properties on the site. The special zoning regulations encourage Western Walls to develop neighborhoods of affordably priced homes.
The zoning regulations also are meant to require a development that is uncommonly sensitive to its environment. The development will preserve a natural drainage way and include streets narrower than the city's norm, as narrow as 26 feet.
Narrow streets promote slower traffic and cause less stormwater runoff, said Andy Masterpole, a McGhie &; Betts planner representing Western Walls.
The development also will include a park capable of playing host to community events, Masterpole said.
The 391 acres include space for 950 single-family homes and 2,200 residential units, said Joan DeWitz of Western Walls.
"It's maybe a 15-year build-out," she said.
The development is the first in Rochester to cross 60th Avenue. The street was once regarded as the westernmost limit for city growth.
