Planning board backs recommendation to divide 56 Brownwall Road into four lots

The Selma Planning Board voted to recommend that the Town Council approve dividing a parcel at 56 Brownwall Road into four lots, a step that staff said triggers the town’s major-subdivision review process.

Planning staff told the board the application, filed by Jimmy Barber Surveying on behalf of property owner Joseph Andrew McCartin, originally described creating three lots but that the applicant’s survey shows four lots. Planning staff said the Unified Development Ordinance language cited in the staff report—identified in the report as Section 17653—limits minor subdivisions to a maximum of three total lots, so creating four would require major-subdivision procedures.

The parcel is “a little under 5 acres” and currently zoned R20 (low-density residential), staff said. The owner also holds the two parcels that connect the landlocked parcel to Brownwall Road; the survey shows a 20-foot access easement to provide vehicular access. Staff said the applicant has expressed an intent to place residences on the new lots but that specific housing types and site improvements would come later if council approves subdivision and the applicant files a preliminary plat.

Board discussion noted two constraints that would shape any future development: properties in the R20 district are limited to single-family detached homes under the current UDO, and the parcel lies in the town’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), meaning it remains subject to town planning and zoning controls. A board member asked whether the applicant planned to pave or otherwise improve the access, and staff replied that the access improvements would be the applicant’s responsibility and would be addressed during later permitting and plat review.

Several members also referenced the town’s comprehensive land use plan, which staff highlighted in the written report. The plan contains a recommendation that the town consider a lower-density, agricultural-style zoning classification with a roughly 1-acre minimum lot size for areas where the town wishes to preserve a rural character. Staff emphasized that the future land use plan is advisory and not binding, but that it provides guidance for council decisions.

On a motion that the board recommend approval of the division, members voted in favor and the board’s recommendation will now go to the Town Council. If the council approves, staff said the applicant must return with a preliminary plat and will then be subject to the conditions and requirements imposed through the major-subdivision review, including landscaping and other subdivision standards.

What happens next: the Planning Board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Selma Town Council for final action. If the council approves the subdivision, future filings (preliminary and final plats) will specify the type and siting of residences and required site improvements.