On hold for more than a year, a plan to build a residential development along Dillard Road near The Summit subdivision is moving forward in an altered form.

The Lexington Station LLC headed by Kelly Arnold, Steve Harlan and John Huggins won approval Thursday from the City-County Planning Commission of Warren County for rezoning 41.56 acres bordered by Dillard Road and Bettersworth Road, where plans call for an 84-lot subdivision.

Approved in a 7-0 vote by the planning commission, the rezoning from agriculture to single-family residential must still go to Warren Fiscal Court for final approval.

Getting to that point seemed unlikely in April 2021, when the planning commission rejected in a 9-0 vote a plan to put 116 houses on the same property.

That plan to build houses of at least 1,700 square feet brought opposition from residents of The Summit and Claiborne Farms who said the proposed house size and the development’s density of 2.79 dwelling units per acre weren’t compatible with those neighboring upscale subdivisions.

This time, with the density reduced to 2.02 units per acre and the minimum house size increased to 2,250 square feet, the plan met with little opposition.

“This is a new application with different builders,” said attorney Tad Pardue, representing Lexington Station LLC.

Pardue pointed out that the maximum number of lots had been reduced by 28% and the minimum square footage was now higher than either The Summit or Claiborne Farms.

Lexington Station’s development plan also calls for widening Dillard Road to provide a right-turn lane into the single entrance off that road into the subdivision.

Pardue also reminded the commissioners that Warren County Public Schools owns a 20-acre parcel across Dillard Road and has plans to build an elementary school on the site, meaning the road will need to be improved in the future.

Chris McIntyre, Warren County Public Schools chief financial officer, said last year that the school system purchased the 20 acres in 2019 “for planning purposes.”

McIntyre said the opening of the new Rich Pond Elementary School gives the school system enough capacity for now but that long-range plans include putting a school on Dillard Road.

The Lexington Station plan also calls for the subdivision to connect to Bettersworth Road, which drew concern from Rich Pond Road resident David Hunt.

“There’s going to be a lot of cut-through traffic on Bettersworth Road,” said Hunt, who has farming operations in the area.

Planning commission staffer Rachel Hurt, responding to Hunt’s concern, said Warren County Public Works has plans to widen Bettersworth Road.

In other action at last week’s meeting, commissioners approved the application of property owners Tom and Portia Pennington to rezone 2.52 acres at Scottsville Road and Magnum Road from agriculture to highway business to develop a multi-tenant building with a mix of office and retail uses.

An architect’s drawing submitted with the application shows a two-story, 24,000-square-foot commercial building on the property that is near a growing residential area near Dye Ford Road.

The rezoning passed 7-0, but not before a couple of nearby residents expressed reservations about putting a commercial development near apartments and homes.

“I’m concerned about the light (coming from the development), said Angela Dossey, who lives on Magnum Road. “How late will those lights be shining in my window?”

Dossey and Cambridge Grove Circle resident John Thomas both expressed concerns about increased traffic in an area that has already seen a lot of growth.

The planning commission approval means the development will move on to Warren Fiscal Court for final approval.

– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.