DELAWARE — A proposed 210-unit townhome development aimed at first-time homebuyers moved one step closer to reality Wednesday.
The city of Delaware’s Planning Commission approved plans for McNett Meadows, formerly known as Evans Farm, on the north side of Peachblow Road and east of the Winterbrooke Place subdivision, according to city documents.
The Maronda Homes development would transform roughly 44 acres of farmland into a community of owner-occupied townhomes featuring walking trails, open space, a clubhouse, pool and playground.
Delaware City Council previously approved the development’s residential planned unit development zoning (R-PUD) in 2025 to allow for one-, two- and three-family dwelling units.
The development plan will now go before city council for further approval.
Housing targeted toward first-time buyers
Tom Hart, a representative for Maronda Homes, told the commission the project is designed to help address demand for attainable homeownership opportunities.
“We’re trying to balance a good look and a good presentation of architecture with housing that is attainable and affordable,” Hart said.
Hart said the townhomes are intended to be owner-occupied and targeted toward first-time homebuyers.
“With the amenities, like the walking path, the clubhouse, the pool, the playground, the tree plantings, we’ll have a very nice site,” he said.
Trails and open spaces planned beneath power lines
A 150-foot wide electric easement cuts the site diagonally, limiting where the townhomes can be built.
Rather than placing more housing in that corridor, a trail system will run underneath the electric lines with open spaces, a basin and a playground woven into the surrounding area.
The developers plan to construct the subdivision in phases.
Phase One on the south side will contain 18 two-unit buildings and 22 three-unit buildings. The commission also approved Phase One’s plat during Wednesday’s meeting.
McNett Meadows Phase Two would have 21 two-unit buildings, 22 three-unit buildings and a clubhouse with a pool near the middle of the site next to Basin A1.
Public versus private roadway access
Future homeowners will access the development from Peachblow Road, “as well as from extensions of existing Gardenia Lane and Harvest Moon Road in the Winterbrooke Place Subdivision,” the plan states.
Planning and Zoning Administrator Anna Kelsey explained that the developers will be responsible for all necessary road improvements to existing public roadways for the subdivision.
Additionally, the road on the north side ending in a cul-de-sac near Peachblow will be a public road, and the others inside the development will be private.
With one road being public, and others being private, the commission spent part of the meeting discussing how future residents would be informed that some roads inside the development will be publicly maintained while others will remain private.
The final consensus was that the city expects to receive phone calls from residents asking why the city plows one neighbor’s road and not theirs when winter rolls around.
The commission said future homeowners should clearly understand those differences before purchasing homes in the development.
Kelsey said the city is confident those distinctions can be communicated to residents as the project moves forward.
