Subdivision plan praised as ‘innovative’

A 183-home subdivision is being hailed as “innovative” and “creative” by members of the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission.

At its June 5 meeting, the council granted preliminary approval of the Copperstone subdivision, at the corner of Scott Boulevard and Vawter School Road in southwest Columbia.

Although the subdivision doesn’t yet have final council approval, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve the plan.

Jerry Wade, chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, said he was excited about the uniqueness of the plan for Copperstone.

“We’ve seen very few subdivisions that have any creative design to them,” Wade said. “Most of them are pretty much cookie-cutter developments. The design creates very significant areas of green space, and a maximum number of houses back up to the green space.”

Copperstone, which would add 87 students to Columbia schools, also enjoys wide support from the City Council.

“I’m so excited to see something innovative,” Fifth Ward Councilwoman Laura Nauser said. “I’m tired of seeing subdivisions that are on grids. This is what I envision Columbia wanting in our community.”

Coves are the key

Copperstone was designed by Rick Harrison Site Design, which is based in Minneapolis. It uses a concept called “coving” that Harrison developed and has used for more than 500 subdivisions in 40 states.

Coving creates open spaces or “coves” — a meandering pattern of house-to-street setbacks — instead of using a constant setback that is common in land development, Harrison wrote in an e-mail.

He wrote that this creates an open, parklike setting that looks and feels far less dense than the neighborhood actually is. The concept eliminates monotony and showcases home fronts, Harrison added.

Neither Harrison nor Kevin Kearns, Copperstone’s developer, would specifically comment on the subdivision, because it has not received final council approval.

Jay Gebhardt, a local civil engineer who helped design Copperstone, spoke at the May 18 commission meeting. According to the minutes of the meeting, Gebhardt said Copperstone’s houses have road setbacks varying from 25 feet up to about 115 feet. The varying distances and angles create views so people don’t look directly into the window of another house, he said.

Wade said that if this subdivision is successful, it could provide a model for future developers in Columbia.

“It’s nice to get the first one,” Wade said. “Developers look at what’s successful.”

The problem, Wade said, is finding a way to incorporate the design into middle-income developments. He said Copperstone’s houses would be “very expensive” — he did not give a precise dollar amount — because the green space increases land values.

“You have to pay for the green space with each house,” Wade said.

Some of the cost is offset by the coving technique. The design reduces the amount of paved roads by up to 20 percent and that land is converted to green space, according to Harrison’s Web site.

A sidewalk question

Copperstone’s sidewalks proved to be a contentious point in getting preliminary council approval.

City regulations require 5-foot sidewalks on both sides of every street. Copperstone has sidewalks on only one side of its streets but compensates with an 8-foot pedway system in the interior of the subdivision. The city granted an exception, or variance, to the regulations.

“If we were building a very standard subdivision, we would be probably building standard sidewalks,” Gebhardt said at the Planning and Zoning meeting. “But there’s nothing about this that is standard.”

Wade said the commission approved the sidewalk variance because sidewalk regulations are intended to ensure that subdivisions have sidewalks on both sides of the street for safety purposes. Copperstone, he said, keeps the amount of sidewalks about the same as regulations require.

Wade said this variance is a small issue, because there will only be residential traffic on the streets and because the design is so unique.

“I think the council is being receptive to a viable alternative,” Wade said. “It’s the combination of the internal system with the green space that makes it work.” Wade said the variance would not have been approved without the internal pedway system.

Although sidewalk regulations could be revised, Wade said he would rather deal with variances on a case-by-case basis.