Plans for a proposed 121-home subdivision in South County are on hold after facing pushback from neighbors.

McBride Homes is proposing “The Grove at Grant’s Trail” at 10245 Spokane Drive. The 35.2-acre site is bounded by Green Park city limits to the west and Interstate 55 to the east, and is surrounded primarily by residential zoning.

The plan was first presented to the county Planning Commission in March, where several residents of neighboring subdivisions voiced their concerns with the project, citing increased traffic in their neighborhood, destruction of green space and subdivision access.

According to the proposal documents, the subdivision would be accessed from Jeffleigh Lane on the north side, and Mullally Drive and Spokane Drive on the east side. All three roads access Reavis Barracks Road. The subdivision would not have its own entrance.

The subdivision would be divided into 89 lots featuring the McBride “Bayside series” and 32 featuring the “Heritage series.” The proposal promises extensive common grounds covering 13.04 acres, which would be overseen by the homeowners’ association. Additionally, the development plans to provide access to Grant’s Trail.

Both home series are designed to offer two-car garages and will feature building heights ranging from one to two stories.

The plans for the development have been in limbo since being held by 6th District Councilman Ernie Trakas, R-Oakville, at the council’s May 28 meeting.

The bills have continued to be held at every council meeting since, although neighbors have continued to voice their concerns during public comment.

At the May 28 meeting, Mullally Drive resident Jason Johnson claimed the commission’s report about the development and potential southern access point was “deeply flawed.”

“This is where it’s flawed, deeply flawed. It says ‘Such a proposal would require a new bridge spanning Gravois Creek’ … that’s totally false … Just looking at Google Maps, the county has jurisdiction over Green Park Road immediately south of the proposed development. In fact, the county has already built a parking lot for the bike trail there,” Johnson said, referring to the gravel parking lot near the intersection of Green Park and Union roads, used to access Grant’s Trail. “Gravois Creek is to the south and west of where Green Park can come off of and access the proposed development.”

Johnson added that residents’ concerns were falling on deaf ears.

“We find out the Planning Commission’s analysis of the southern entrance is deeply flawed,” he said. “So get ready when the crashes and the injuries and the deaths pile on Reavis Barracks off of Spokane, Mullally and Jeffleigh, here’s what you can hang your hat on, this flawed analysis.”

The planning department report about the proposal did state concerns about a southern access point that would connect to Green Park Industrial Drive, which would require a bridge over Gravois Creek and development in the flood plain. An access point to Green Park Road would not require a bridge over Gravois Creek, however both access points, either off the industrial road or Green Park, would require crossing Grant’s Trail, a multipurpose recreation trail.

“The residents of Reavis Parks, Reavis Gardens and the surrounding areas continue to have grave concerns over the utilization of our residential streets,” said speaker Katie Addison. “Our concerns are not anecdotal, it’s just statistics, … and I don’t want to become another traffic-related statistic when the county has the means to remediate and accept accountability for our safety.”

Addison told the council that over 460 signatures had been collected from neighborhood residents who are against the use of residential streets for the development.

“Where do we go from here? The burden feels like it rests on our shoulders, the residents,” Addison said.

The traffic concerns were reiterated by South County resident Nancy Klapp at the council’s June 4 meeting.

“I wanted to give an update on the actual traffic in the neighborhood. Last Friday, on May 31, at 6:30 p.m., I was sitting in a neighbor’s backyard. We gather every Friday evening and we heard this crash, 6:30 p.m., Friday evening. …  I walked up to see what had actually happened, if I’d been mistaken. The car was overturned, they were routing traffic off Reavis Barracks Road onto Jeffleigh, who were, in turn, making u-turns to get back out and were routed west on Reavis Barracks Road,” Klapp said. “So, that meant all four lanes were closed. And, this afternoon at 3:30 p.m., my daughter and I were heading to the store. We wanted to make a left-hand turn, and the traffic heading east on Reavis Barracks Road was backed up from the intersection of Reavis Barracks and highway (Interstate) 55 all the way to the curve, where Reavis Barracks Road turns into Mackenzie … So, the traffic conditions continue. The residents still like to go for walks. In our division, there are no sidewalks.”

Resident Mark McGehee commented against the use of Mullally Drive as the thoroughfare for the development.

“It’s kind of ridiculous. It will create nothing but a safety hazard,” McGehee said. “I’m glad the bill was put on hold.”

Residents of the Reavis Park subdivision held a neighborhood meeting regarding the subdivision on May 30. The meeting was attended by Mike Archer, who is challenging Trakas in the Republican primary for the 6th District seat Aug. 6.

At the gathering, some residents pointed out where the county had placed signs for the development’s public hearing. Some residents had previously voiced concerns that neighboring residents were not notified adequately about the project, in part due to where the sign was placed at the end of Spokane Drive.

“(They) put the sign where nobody was going to see it … We are really not … we don’t get involved in a lot of things … but this is crazy. And it’s the bike trail, that’s the bottom line. They don’t want to cross the bike trail,” said Mary Johnson, wife of Jason Johnson. “We’re not trying to be mean. We just don’t want our whole lives upended by 121 houses.”

The proposal was on the council’s June 25 agenda – after The Call’s press time – under perfection of bills.