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Thursday, August 9, 2007
Potential for Flooding Sinks Hilltop Plan
By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph
Flooding concerns were one reason a plan to develop the Hilltop Estates subdivision was tabled by the Edgewood Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday.
"I have seen that parcel get very wet," said neighboring resident Steve Alejandro, referring to the northern part of the proposed development, near where he lives.
Hilltop Estates is north of Interstate 40 and west of Horton Road in Edgewood. The proposed 60-acre subdivision would have 40 lots that average 1.6 acres each. The plan for the area was presented by Advanced Engineering and Consulting.
Alejandro, who said he is an engineer and physicist who works in aerospace engineering, said he is worried that the subdivision will increase water flow in the area.
He invited the commissioners to walk the property themselves, saying it is important to see the evidence of water flow from rain in the past year.
It is an issue he experienced firsthand last year, he says.
"The water velocity through my property was phenomenal ... this situation is going to be exacerbated if this development's water drainage is not looked at properly," he said.
The problem, he said, is not a recent seasonal increase in rain. Alejandro believes increased water flow is caused by water shedding off roofs and roads of new developments at higher elevations.
He fears the water flow problem will increase with the Hilltop Estates development.
Shahab Biazar, the engineer for Advanced Engineering and Consulting, said that when the houses, ditches and roads are in place, they will slow the flow of water rather than increase it.
"I guarantee you your flow will be less," Biazar said to Alejandro.
Some of the plans to mitigate drainage problems, however, were changed since the Hilltop Estates plan was originally submitted, according to Karen Mahalick, Edgewood's planning and development manager.
Mahalick referred to an area on the northern portion of the subdivision, near Alejandro's property, as a "conceptual zone" that is prone to flooding.
The original plan called for ponding and open-space areas, Mahalick said, but the plan has changed considerably.
"You can't say that it is the same subdivision that you are presenting," she told the developer.
Mahalick asked for revisions to a few documents and suggested the developer enlarge one of the lots and outline grading and drainage.
Commission Chairman Del Rea suggested that Biazar and Alejandro work on the issue together, and the two agreed to do so.
Biazar said he would walk the site with Alejandro.
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