VOL. 132 | NO. 228 | Thursday, November 16, 2017

Plans for more than 200 acres of residential development in Lakeland will go before the city’s joint Municipal Planning and Design Review Commission on Thursday, Nov. 16.

The larger of the two projects, known as Chapel Woods, is a 214-lot, 126.4-acre residential development being planned by Evolve Bank & Trust.

Located on the west side of Chambers Chapel Road, east of the Grove and Oakwood subdivisions and south of the Oakwood Grove subdivision, Chapel Woods will offer lots ranging from 10,519 to 25,304 square feet, according to the Arkansas lender’s application.

“Chapel Woods was designed with special attention to conservation of the natural features such as vegetation, topography and streams,” Gerald Lawson with Lawson Engineering and Consulting said in a letter of intent. “We feel the design of this neighborhood will fit in well within the Lakeland community while serving the currents needs of the residential market.”

Lawson said the development team is seeking approval as a planned development rather than standard subdivision because of the challenging terrain and the flexibility that process provides as design progresses through different phases of the project.

In addition to the 214 lots, the subdivision will set aside 34.2 acres, or 27 percent of the total development, for common open space.

A new street running east and west would be constructed to connect Lakeland Trace to Chambers Chapel Road while the former is extended to the south for future connectivity. A new segment to remove the two 90-degree turns along Chambers Chapel Road is also proposed in the planned development.

Evolve Bank & Trust’s chief credit officer, Dan Springfield, was listed as the point of contact on the application.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Bartlett submitted a preliminary site plan for The Estates at Chambers Chapel, a separate 100-acre residential development.

Located west of the Oakwood Planned Development, plans for the Estates at Chambers Chapel call for 70 “upscale” lots that range from 24,200 to 76,000 square feet.

“Understanding that this development will require additional details after the preliminary site plan approval, prior to submitting the final plans, we feel that the development plan for The Estates at Chambers Chapel will create an extraordinary residential neighborhood, a neighborhood in which Lakeland and the developer will be proud to have taken part,” William D. Porter of W.H. Porter Consultants said in a letter of intent.

Porter said the project could begin construction as early as 2018 after Bank of Bartlett finds a developer to implement the approved construction plans. The initial phase of construction will be for 32 lots on 50 acres.

Approximately 23 percent of the development will be set aside for common space, including an eight-foot-wide walking trail.

In his staff report, Lakeland planning director Tom Skehan said that the original outline plan for this development was approved in late 2016, but sewage issues forced the developers to go back to the drawing board.

“Between then and now representatives from The Bank of Bartlett, the engineers and City of Lakeland staff have met repeatedly to discuss what sewer system would be utilized,” Skehan wrote. “The developers were wanting to use a STEG (Septic Tank Effluent Gravity) sewer system and the city insisted on a conventional gravity sewer system. Recently, the developer met with the City to concede their position and submitted a PDP for review and consideration.”

Both projects will be heard by Lakeland officials on Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m. and if approved, will then go before the Board of Commissioners in December.