Plans for the long-discussed STAR bond district, including a proposed dinosaur display park, are taking steps forward.
The Derby Planning Commission will consider a final plat for what is called the Derby Destination Development Addition at its Jan. 5 meeting.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall and includes a public forum period for those wishing to comment on the plans.
The addition includes the dinosaur park, which is one component of the STAR bond project plan; however, City Planner Cody Bird said plans for the dinosaur component have not yet been submitted, so will not be a part of the Jan. 5 discussion.
The plat, along site plan review information on the proposed Rock Regional Hospital, also is available online at www.derbyweb.com. The Derby Informer will cover the gathering and update the subject in its Jan. 11 edition.
City staff has recommend that the commission approve the final plat, subject to staff comments, and authorize the applicant to proceed.
If approval is granted, which is expected, the plan moves on to the City Council for its vote.
Plat review generally considers many of the development details.
That includes lot configuration and layout, how access is provided to each lot, easement locations for the extension of public services and more, Bird said.
The commission has already examined the preliminary plat, but as questions and issues arose, they were addressed in the final version.
“They will be ensuring that requirements of the preliminary plat have been addressed, and that the final plat is consistent with the requirements of the city’s subdivision regulations,” said Bird of the commission’s mission.
The 49.5-acre plat, which is at the northwest corner of Patriot Ave. and Rock Road, would be under the management of Derby Destination Development LLC, which aims to develop it for commercial purposes.
The replatting will create new lot configurations along with a combination of public and private streets to make the STAR bond district possible. Those bonds are special financing vehicles that provide use of state taxes to spur the project. No local tax dollars are involved in the district and the city of Derby is not financially responsible for the project or bonds.
The city, though, is currently actively seeking to market the bonds, and an update on that project is expected later this quarter.
The district’s origins go back to September 2015, when it was established. The following summer, the plan was approved by the council along with a development agreement.
The preliminary plat of the property was approved by the commission in October, subject to changes, which Bird said have been addressed.
Drainage has been a source of major concern in recent Derby developments, and this is no different.
The plat includes cross-lot drainage and a drainage pond.
The pond will “provide the required on-site detention to assure that post-development runoff does not exceed the pre-development runoff,” Bird said.
With the new plat, there will be seven lots that will be zoned B-3 and available for commercial development.
To serve the new district, a westward extension of Freedom Street is proposed. The extension also will require modification to the traffic signal at the intersection of Freedom Street and Rock Rock, Bird said.
