During its first meeting of the year on Jan. 13, the Derby City Council addressed a number of items pushing development forward across the city — covering a wide variety of projects.
First up, the council officially approved a zone change for property located at 1418 N. Rock Rd (just south of Rib Crib).
The zone change will shift the 9.3-acre property from single-family residential (R-1) to general business (B-3), which will allow for uses ranging from retail stores to restaurants to vehicle repair and more.
City Planner Scott Knebel said he has not heard of any plans from the property owner, but did note that residential development — or mixed use — would also be allowed in the rezoned area.
Next, the property will have to be platted and a site plan will have to be submitted, with Knebel pointing out that zone changes are set to be considered for the two properties directly south of the rezoned property at the next planning commission meeting.
Corporate Park adjustments
Additionally, the council approved a final plat for the Derby Corporate Park 2nd Addition, located at the southeast corner of 55th Street and Buckner. It is a replat of the larger Derby Corporate Park Addition that includes the city’s Public Works facility and the Foxfire housing development.
With the replat of the 174.79-acre tract of land, the main change will be larger individual lot sizes — driven by the market.
“They’re changing this to large lots because that’s what potential users are telling them they want,” Knebel said.
Being in the accident potential zone (APZ) of McConnell Air Force Base also limits the potential uses of the lots. Due to the APZ, businesses with high concentrations of people in small areas — like coffee shops, restaurants, etc. — are not recommended.
City Manager Kiel Mangus noted that limits development opportunities on the northwest side of Derby, but the city is also trying to be a good partner to the Air Force base — with those development restrictions being mutually beneficial.
“If you’re a community that doesn’t care, it’s easy to loss your base,” said Mayor Mark Staats.
The council also took action to approve a final plat for the Sterling East 2nd Addition and the Derby Water Treatment Plant Addition, which were both pretty straightforward.
Sterling East (at the southwest corner of 79th Street and Greenwich) was also a replat adding seven more total lots to the development — now at 207 total — along with re-spreading some special assessments.
A plat was also finalized for the new water treatment facility (and two wells) north of 95th Street and east of Hillside. As it is city-owned, Knebel noted no guarantees were sought, as the city will budget for the necessary infrastructure.