Highland Village tops Airway Heights council's study session discussion

Road width at Highland Village living complex was once again the subject o discussion by the Airway Heights City Council, this time at their April 9 study session.

Highland Village is set to be a living area of “cottage style” houses as a possible option for residents currently living in the city’s accident potential zone (APZ). The designers of the area were requesting to change the width of the roads from 40 feet to 32, which stays within the national fire code.

In previous discussions, Fire Chief Mitch Metzger and Police Chief Lee Bennett expressed or stated concerns they had about emergency vehicles being able to go through the neighborhood.

“This decision will have no impact on the character of the development,” Public Works Director Kevin Anderson said. “It is more for aesthetic. They have asked other communities and they have said yes.”

Councilman Larry Bowman had concerns about the change after talking to residents in his housing development, which is right next to Highland Village.

“I don’t think they would like less than 36 feet,” Bowman said.

Councilman Sonny Weathers said he researched the topic and found multiple articles that supported the change, saying it would reduce chances of accidents in the neighborhood.

“This is a genuine option for those in the APZ,” Weathers said.

There was also discussion about amendments that could be added if it got approved, including certain stipulations for the developers.

“I am not necessarily against this road width,” Mayor Kevin Richey said. “But we should consider saying there would be no dead end roads or cul de sacs.”

Richey also said that it is nice to know that other cities have even narrower roads and are just fine.

At the end, the council was on board with allowing the 32 foot road width change and will have an official vote at the next City Council meeting.

In other topics, the board also talked about the 6-year transportation improvement plan, which improves the roads around the city.

Anderson told the council to go over the packet and that he would hope to get it approved soon. He plans to have a public hearing on the document in the first meeting of May, so it can be adopted after that.

“I think it needs to be done no matter what,” Bowman said.

The council also went over the final adjustments to the liaison role that includes four boards, youth commission, senior advisory board, planning commission and park board.

The positions will be set on a year-by-year basis and it is a voluntary role. The board is set to appoint the positions at the next meeting.

Grace Pohl can be reached at grace@cheneyfreepress.com.