More homes proposed for Hawksmoor community

More homes could be coming to the Hawksmoor community in Horizon West.

County officials hosted a community meeting Monday, Aug. 13, at Keene’s Crossing Elementary School to discuss a request to adding 248 more homes to the Hawksmoor community, located in the Village H in Horizon West. 

The subject property is located north of Old YMCA Road and west of County Road 545. The project’s official name is Zanzibar Property PD/Zanzibar Property Phases 1-4 PSP and Park Tract P-2 DP.

VHB Director of Land Development John Prowell, who spoke on behalf of the project applicant, said the developer is seeking the approval of the preliminary subdivision plan for phases 2 through 4 of Hawksmoor. The plan includes adding 248 single-family residential dwelling units in phases 2, 3 and 4 in addition to the approved 213 units in phase 1. The request also includes a 4.17-acre amenity tract within the development.

“The PSP (preliminary subdivision plan) for phase 1 was approved in 2016 and that’s what’s been under construction … for the last year since January,” Prowell said. “PSPs look at the road standards, the utilities, the stormwater, the open space — it looks at those types of standards. … We’re really asking for approval for the lot size, the road widths and the things that public works really looks at.”

Orange County District 1 Commissioner Betsy VanderLey addressed some concerns related to the project previously raised by residents. One of the issues she discussed related to building a fire station near the area.

“As of today, there’s a target date of Oct. 1 for a temporary fire station to be placed near the intersection of Porter Road and 545,” VanderLey said. “It will stay there until two permanent fire stations are built (in the area).”

VanderLey added that the target date is not set and could be subject to change.

Another issue previously raised pertained to speeding and traffic safety concerns on Old YMCA Road. County Engineer Diana Almodovar discussed what roadway safety improvements will come to Old YMCA Road. She said in 2014, the county entered into an agreement with developers for Village H for roadway improvements on Old YMCA Road.

“We have noticed that … (area) has some speeding issues,” Amodovar said. “For that reason … we have asked the applicant to look into installing speed what we call speed tables — not a speed hump. A speed hump and speed table are a little bit different, however, they serve the same purpose — they slow down traffic.”