When the City-County Planning Commission of Warren County voted last month in favor of putting a 65-lot housing development along Plano-Rich Pond Road, residents of that traditionally rural area promised to continue fighting what they see as an ill-conceived plan and an encroachment on the pastoral acreage.

Now a leader of the group of Plano residents is following through on that promise.

“We’re going to proceed with a notice of opposition to the county attorney and fiscal court,” said Bob Davenport, who was among eight residents speaking against the development at the June 15 planning commission meeting. “We’re going to do that fairly soon.”

The group will have to move quickly.

Rezoning the 71.4 acres at 974 Plano-Rich Pond Road from agriculture to residential estate, recommended for approval in a 5-0 vote by the planning commission, was approved unanimously on first reading at the July 13 fiscal court meeting.

A second and final reading is scheduled for the July 27 fiscal court meeting. By county ordinance, the notice of opposition must be filed before that meeting.

That notice will set off a process expected to lead to a hearing before fiscal court magistrates.

County Attorney Amy Milliken explained that the group filing the notice of opposition will come to the July 27 meeting and request a hearing.

The magistrates, though, could deny that request and move forward with a second reading on the rezoning.

If a hearing is granted, Milliken said, the magistrates will decide if it will be based simply on the planning commission record or be a “de novo” (new) trial-type hearing.

If granted, the hearing must be held not later than four fiscal court meetings from the date the notice of opposition is filed.

At issue is a development proposed by the JAB Holdings LLC that includes longtime local builder Jody Allen and planning commissioner Christiaan Volkert as officers.

The development on property that JAB Holdings purchased in March for $1.1 million from Charles Deweese Construction as part of that company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization would meet a need for housing in a growing county.

It calls for 65 single-family houses of at least 1,600 square feet, but they would be built in an area not currently served by sewer.

That need to put septic tanks on property that has sinkholes and caves on it is among the objections brought up by nearby residents at the planning commission meeting.

But it’s hardly the only issue they have with the plan.

Davenport presented to the planning commission a petition signed by more than 120 of his neighbors, mentioning the dangers of the narrow, winding road and concerns about encroaching on an area that has Native American artifacts possibly dating back centuries.

Such an encroachment could violate the Kentucky Antiquities Act, a 1962 law that makes it public policy to preserve archaeological sites and objects of antiquity and to limit archaeological work (exploration, excavation and collection) to qualified persons and institutions.

According to Davenport, the land had been used in the past by Charles Deweese Construction as a dumping ground for construction debris, further complicating the development plans.

JAB Holdings attorney Chris Davenport addressed some of the Plano residents’ concerns at the planning commission meeting, pointing out that the developer has agreed to widen a section of Plano-Rich Pond Road from 16 to 18 feet and that any sinkholes on the property must be mitigated before development can move forward.

Despite such assurances, Bob Davenport is confident that he and his neighbors can not only get a hearing but win their appeal.

“I’m very optimistic because there’s no other subdivision in the county that faced the obstacles this one does,” he said.