The city’s planning commission, which approved the project last month, had debated whether the development should have one driveway for each unit, or separate driveways for each unit. Ultimately, city officials reverted back to individual driveways for each unit, after being unable to decide on a workable shared driveway layout, said Tim Bachman, the city’s director of development.
Construction is expected to begin on a model home in two months, with units being construed one at a time, said Patrick Merten, a representative of Hearthstone Holdings.
“It will be market-driven,” he said.
Hearthstone is planning a similar development in West Chester Twp. at 4940 Mulhauser Road. The cost for the Fairfield development would be just under $200,000 per unit, said Merten.
Landominiums are properties where the owner owns both the home and the land, while a condominium involves a homeowner association that takes care of maintenance for the building, according to Greater Cincinnati Real Estate.
The original site plan called for individual driveways for each unit. However, a second site plan, revised by the city’s engineers, called for shared driveways between two units. City Planner Erin Donovan said the city had been concerned about there being too many curb cuts, creating a potential traffic hazard. In a letter to Bachman, Merten wrote that the shared driveways might create driveway maintenance issues, homeowner parking conflicts and problems maneuvering vehicles.
City Council approved the project with conditions, including that there will be a minimum of 10 feet between houses, with common space to be maintained by the homeowners association.
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