Swim and tennis club to be new neighborhood
Marika Lee
mlee1@communitypress.com
Despite concerns from residents, the plan to turn the closed Montgomery Swim and Tennis Club into a new neighborhood is moving forward.
Camden Homes' initial plan to turn the old swim and tennis club into 29 luxury single-family homes was approved by the Montgomery Planning Commission. Montgomery Swim and Tennis Club, 9941 Orchard Club Drive, closed in September.
Community Development Director Tracy Roblero said Camden Homes made changes to its original plans after hearing concerns from city staff and residents. The plans reduced the number of homes from 30 to 29, increased the lot size to 6,000 square feet, increased the amount of open space from 13 to 20 percent and increased setbacks and buffers.
"They are trying to maximum the distance between the new and existing homes," Roblero said.
Some residents were concerned about the density of the development.
"Twenty-nine homes is still too many. We really encourage the developer to reduce the number of houses further so there will be an appropriate amount of open space for children to play in a safe environment," Orchard Club Drive resident Brian Monk said.
The plans still have to receive approval from Montgomery City Council and the final site plans will have to be approved by the planning commission, Chair Michael Harbison said.
"Many people who are aging would like to stay here and this way we are keeping 29 Montgomery people in Montgomery. We did cut it down to 29 as a result of the last meeting. We could build 38 homes here. We are just excited about the proposal. We have had a lot of input from the commission," Camden Homes owner Dutch Cambruzzi said.
The commission and residents were also concerned about the amount of traffic the new development would produce. Camden Homes conducted a traffic study on Orchard Club Drive and estimated the development would increase the amount of trips during peak hours by 20 to 30 vehicles.
"The traffic study is based on the average single-family residences, despite the fact they are expecting mostly emptynesters in the community," Roblero said, adding Camden Homes' market is mostly emptynesters and the homes will be designed to cater to that.
Roblero said the traffic in the area is already bad and has been classified as "poor level of service" by the city's traffic engineer. It does not have enough traffic to warrant a traffic signal based on the Ohio Department of Transportation's guidelines.
"Traffic could be worse if we let someone build apartments or two-families in there. Overall, I think they have done a very good job of listening to the residents and trying to work within the code," Harbison said.
The commission passed a motion to zone the entire area for single-family residential properties and approved the initial plans for the development.
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