Planning Commission Postpones Vote on 160-Home St. Cloud Development

(KNSI) – A plan to swap more than 200 attached townhomes for single-family houses in St. Cloud won’t move forward until at least September, after the Planning Commission voted to postpone on Tuesday night.

Capstone Homes wants the city to amend the Waters Edge at Donovan Lake Planned Unit Development, cutting 218 approved attached units, a mix of row homes and urban townhomes, down to 160 detached single-family houses on roughly 35 acres west of the current end of 7th Street Northeast and Cherry Park.

Commissioners didn’t reject the plan, but sent it back for more work after a homeowners association dispute took over much of Tuesday’s hearing. Five neighbors spoke and most of their concerns centered not on the houses themselves, but on how a potential new HOA would interact with an existing one next door.

Developer testimony suggested the new homes could fall under a master HOA that already governs part of Waters Edge at Donovan Lake, though city staff said that relationship still isn’t entirely clear.

St. Cloud Community Development Director Matt Glaesman told KNSI News sorting that out is now the priority. “It really is about the association’s responsibilities and their fees. Again, associations are private entities establishing fees for privately provided services. The city is not involved in those.”

Commissioners also want more clarity on public infrastructure before signing off. Capstone is asking for 28-foot-wide streets and sidewalks only along the 7th Street Northeast extension. That’s a departure from what city staff originally recommended which was 32-foot wide streets and sidewalks on one side of every local road except cul-de-sacs. The developer and city engineers haven’t reached agreement on those standards yet.

The commission wants answers on street width, sidewalks and the HOA question before its meeting on the second Tuesday in August.

If commissioners act then, the earliest the St. Cloud City Council could take up the proposal is September.

Despite the delay, city staff remains behind the overall concept. “The staff is really supportive of the concept that’s been introduced. There are many positive aspects. We know that detached product is more attractive than attached. The attached housing market really hasn’t caught on fully here in the St. Cloud Metropolitan Area as it has in other urban areas.”

Glaesman said St. Cloud’s market for attached housing hasn’t caught on locally, and smaller lots keep the detached product affordable while filling in an area that already has urban infrastructure in place. Developers stated similar homes they have in the area have sold for $360,000.

The homes would sit on 40-foot lots using Capstone’s Liberty Series designs, with six models ranging from a 1,373-square-foot one-story house to a five-bedroom plan topping 2,800 square feet. Every home would include a two-stall attached garage.

Waters Edge at Donovan Lake was first approved in 2003 for 1,285 total dwelling units across 10 housing categories and has been amended several times since.

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