九色视频

At a workshop Monday, the Easton Planning Commission chose to retain language in the comprehensive plan update that discourages new annexations in the next 10 years.

As recently as last year, Easton annexed around 17 acres of county land east of U.S. Route 50 between the Royal Farms and Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. It鈥檚 expected to become an affordable housing project, though the developer will still need town approval on an application.

Town Council members have indicated concerns about annexing additional land into town, especially as Easton deals with the question of whether it鈥檚 maxing out on residential growth.

The comprehensive plan, last updated in 2010, is undergoing revisions before potential council approval later this year or early next year. It outlines how the town aims to grow in the next decade, touching on areas such as annexation, population growth and traffic.

On Monday and at a workshop last month, commission and council members noted that there may be exceptions to the no-annexation rule.

鈥淚 would have a hard time with being absolute about annexation, saying that that鈥檚 not happening,鈥� Ward 2 Councilmember Robert Rankin said on Aug. 25. 鈥淏ecause there may be exceptions.鈥�

The main exception to completely halting annexation seems to be Easton Point, the development project that seeks to revitalize Port Street and the area around the Tred Avon River. The effort hasn鈥檛 significantly progressed in recent years, council members say.

Ward 1 Councilmember Maureen Curry said at last month鈥檚 meeting that Easton Point鈥檚 redevelopment is 鈥渁n enigma.鈥� She advocated that annexation of the county land in that area be excluded from any no-annexation directive in the new comprehensive plan.

鈥淭he Easton Point development project鈥檚 been on the board for almost 20 years,鈥� Curry said. 鈥淲e have to find a way to move that forward if we can.鈥�

Town leaders largely agreed that a project like Easton Point rises to the level of an 鈥渆xtraordinary鈥� annexation that should be permitted under the comprehensive plan鈥檚 guidance.

Still, the plan should emphasize that annexation generally is 鈥渘ot a priority for the town,鈥� said Planning Commission member Victoria McAndrews on Monday.

GROWTH RATE

Hesitation to approve future annexation requests stems, in part, from the town鈥檚 growth. From 2000 to 2010, the town鈥檚 population increased 36%, according to census data. In the next decade, growth slowed to 7%, bringing Easton鈥檚 population from 15,945 to 17,101.

When commission and council members met for a joint workshop in August, the council maintained that the comprehensive plan should include a target growth rate for population. The 2010 version has a 1% annual growth rate, which for the most part hasn鈥檛 been exceeded. Bumping it up to 1.75% was discussed.

Michael Ports, the commission鈥檚 vice chair, said Monday that 1.75% 鈥渕akes the most sense.鈥� But other commission members leaned toward a 1.14% annual growth rate, which is based off of historical trends.

Commission Chairperson Phil Toussaint agreed with the 1.14% rate, emphasizing that it needs to be at a mark so the Town Council feels comfortable approving the plan as a whole.

TRAFFIC

When housing projects come to the commission or Town Council for approval, they include traffic impact studies. Developers typically hire a traffic engineering firm to conduct the study of the development鈥檚 potential impact on traffic backups.

Planning Commission members said moving forward, the comprehensive plan needs to demand more thorough traffic reviews. Klein said studies often choose a few intersections next to the project and ignore the town鈥檚 main arteries, where traffic is already an issue.

Easton Planning and Zoning Director Miguel Salinas said the best way to expand the scope of a traffic impact study for a development is if town engineers or the State Highway Administration request a larger scope during meetings with the project鈥檚 traffic engineer.

Town Engineer Rick Van Emburgh said he wants to continue requiring developers鈥� traffic studies to include a percent change in traffic based on if the development were to be built.

Toussaint said he wants the studies to include more consideration on the impact to pedestrians, not just vehicles. He added that studies should be framed around the town鈥檚 ongoing Complete Streets study, which is assessing Easton鈥檚 roads on a large scale.

鈥淲hat we鈥檝e received in the past as a traffic impact study is going to be worthless for us going forward,鈥� Toussaint said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 propaganda at this point, prepared by the applicant鈥檚 engineers.鈥�