WOODS CROSS ó A council member here who initially wanted a development agreement with Ivory Homes tabled, later gave her approval of the development. Council member Tamy Dayley wasnít thrilled with the idea of 38 townhomes and nine single family dwellings being built on 17.12 acres at approximately 1450 N. 1900 West. ìI donít like the 38 townhomes. I think weíd do better with fewer,î she said, asking Ivory representative Chris Gamvroulas to consider putting in some cottage homes instead of that many townhomes. She asked that the matter be tabled until the city and Ivory could study the matter further. ##M:MORE##

ìA study (the city conducted in conjunction with its Redevelopment Agency) shows thereís more need for housing for senior citizens and townhomes donít fill that need,î Dayley said.

Gamvroulas responded that one of the plans being offered will have the master bedroom on the main floor. Ivoryís sales representatives have indicated to him that plan has been selling well among empty nesters.

Dayley also said she didnít like the fact the developmentís plans call for roads crossing the A-1 drain. The drain, while piped underground is mainly an area covered with grass and used for walking.

To Dayleyís concerns, city planner Tim Stephens said the road planned by Ivory is a minor one, and will not have to handle the full brunt of traffic from the 38 townhomes.

Dayley said she didnít like the fact that in the past few years, the city has allowed more high-density housing. ìIím just saying we need to take a breather and see what weíve done,î she said.

Council member David Hill said the proposed townhomes are high-end residences. And city administrator Gary Uresk took issue with the term high density, pointing out that while the townhomes are in units of four and six, the western side of the property will be left as open space because developers canít build under high power lines and because the A-1 drain runs through it.

He asked that Dayley look at the economics involved, saying the western portion of the acreage has no value to Ivory because they canít build on it. Theyíre paying for it by using the density on the other end, Uresk said. If the development is averaged out, it works out to about three homes per acre.

Having received that explanation Dayley voted with the rest of the council to approve the development agreement.

That agreement still needs some tweaking, and Gamvroulas will work with city staff on ironing out the details.