Despite concerns raised by neighboring residents, a rezoning expected to lead to development of a sizable residential subdivision in the Plano community is moving forward.

After hearing the objections of seven residents who live near the proposed development, the City-County Planning Commission of Warren County on Thursday approved in a 5-2 vote an application to rezone from agriculture to single-family residential 29.9 acres at 2965 Plano Road.

That action – final in 21 days unless it is appealed to Warren Fiscal Court – sets the stage for applicants David Eubank and Leslie Ellis of Firm Lineage LLC and builder Barrett Hammer to develop a subdivision with as many as 88 houses of at least 1,400 square feet each.

Such a development is needed in a growing Warren County, argued attorney Tad Pardue, representing the developer.

“This proposed development is designed to satisfy a need,” Pardue said. “There’s a need for this type of housing, what would be called starter homes.”

The Firm Lineage development plan calls for only 30% of the houses to have vinyl front facades, with the rest being brick, stone or another type of masonry, and it calls for each house to have a two-car attached garage.

Pardue pointed out that the proposed development conforms to the planning commission’s Future Land Use Map and has adequate infrastructure. The houses would be comparable in size to nearby subdivisions Pebble Ridge, Kingston Pointe and Wyndham Estates, but the proposed subdivision’s density of 2.94 dwelling units per acre was seen as too high by some neighbors.

“Why does this need to be a high-density area?” asked Plano Road resident John Holloway. “This has been a rural area for years. Now it’s getting very crowded.”

Another Plano Road resident, Peggy Thompson, said a burgeoning Plano Elementary School and continued residential developments have created traffic problems.

“We moved to the country, but now the city has moved to us,” she said.

Jamie Woosley and his son James Woosley, who own property next to the proposed development, raised concerns about water runoff from the development.

“I’m very concerned about all this water that has to go somewhere,” said Jamie Woosley. “I’m not opposed to the subdivision, but I’m concerned about my land.”

Engineer Lucas Slavey said he is putting plans in place to direct any water runoff to a swampy area in the back of the property, and he explained that state law requires developers to mitigate the impact of water runoff.

Commissioner Greg Gay made the motion to approve the rezoning and was joined by Dean Warren, Tim Graham, Christiaan Volkert and Dharmi Shah in voting for it. Commissioners Rick Starks and Amy Drane voted against the rezoning.

Also approved at Thursday’s meeting was the application of Steve Sutton and Mike Vitale of Homepro Holdings LLC to rezone from light industrial to multi-family residential 0.76 acres at the west corner of Adams Street and East 13^th Avenue.

The Homepro Holdings development plan calls for constructing a maximum of 24 apartments on the property. The rezoning was approved 6-0. Volkert, a partner with Vitale on other developments, left the room and did not vote on the matter.

The planning commission’s next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m. in the county courthouse.