UPDATE: Apple Valley City Council Votes to Move Forward Cobblestone Lake Development

The Apple Valley City Council voted Thursday to help move forward the next phase of residential development in the Cobblestone Lake neighborhood.

Council members unanimously approved an amendment to the city's comprehensive plan, a rezoning and a preliminary mapping of lots for the 11.4 acres of the Cobblestone fifth addition, north of 160th Street West and south of Cobblestone Lake Parkway and between Elmhurst and Elm Creek lanes.

The area previously was allotted for townhomes, but is now set for 53 single-family homes; whereas it would have previously allowed for six to 12 townhomes per acre, the change moves it to three to six single-family homes per acres. City Planner Tom Lovelace said at a May Planning Commission meeting that there would be about five single-family homes per acre, at about 5,000 to 13,000 square feet each.

Before Thursday's vote, the property was zoned for gravel mining; it is now zoned for residential development.

South Shore Development representative Jacob Fick that townhomes are not selling in today's market. He said Thursday that builder Centex, which has previously built in the neighborhood, is looking at potentially building in the fifth addition.

Fick said in May that 41 homes from the two developers in the Cobblestone neighborhood were sold in the past year, and that almost all the homes in the developed areas are sold already.

He told the city council in May that continuing to develop Cobblestone Lake—which the company plans to do in two phases—will help maintain momentum.

The council and commission previously raised some concerns about the project, including that doing the project in two phases instead of one would make the area look somewhat incomplete.

A memo from South Shore Developers says developing the fifth addition all at once would leave the company paying for lots that might not be built on for more than a year.

The council also asked whether there was a way to connect the northwest and southeast corners of the development for pedestrians; South Shore's memo says there are trails on three sides of the neighborhood and sidewalks on both sides of all the streets, and representatives feel this will connect residents to the trail systems in the area.

Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland on Thursday commended South Shore Development for the job they've already done in the neighborhood.

"Cobblestone Lake is one of our diamonds in our community," she said.

Councilwoman Ruth Grendahl was not present at Thursday's meeting.