Powell is expanding to the south, with a pair of new subdivisions being built south of Monroe Street.

On the city’s eastern end, two new homes are currently being constructed within the Shoopman 5 Subdivision while plans are advancing to create the new Autumn Grove Subdivision just east of Southside Elementary School.

Powell officials approved the initial 30-lot phase of the Shoopman 5 development last year, annexing 5.77 acres into the city. They’re now being asked to bring another 13.68 acres into the city to cover the first two phases and 69 lots of Autumn Grove.

By building to the south, both developers are following what’s available. For example, the elevation of the land makes it particularly difficult to expand the city any further to the east.

Both subdivisions are also taking advantage of recent ordinance changes the Powell City Council made to encourage development.

Autumn Grove

Developer Erik Petersen has said Autumn Grove could eventually grow to include 200 houses, as he owns more land further to the south that remains in the county. However, he guessed it could take as long as 40 years to fully build out the subdivision.

Petersen plans to start by building 25 homes along the south side of Monroe Street, between Day Street and County Road 8H.

That first phase will only use about a third of the land he’s seeking to annex. The remaining two-thirds of the property to the south — which could eventually house another 44 residences and a new street — will remain in agricultural production for the time being.

The name of that future street has yet to be determined.

Many of Powell’s east-west streets on the south side of town bear the names of America’s Founding Fathers (Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe). At last month’s commission meeting, Petersen said he’d given some consideration to the name “Trump Boulevard.”

“... I thought that would eliminate a few people out of the pool that would live there, … so I thought I might lose some sales,” he said. “And then I thought, it might be alright.”

Ultimately, Petersen decided to recommend using the name Lincoln, though no final decisions have been made.

Shoopman 5

Several blocks to the east, Scott and Shane Shoopman have created Reagan Street within their Shoopman 5 Subdivision.

The street is accessed off Jones Street, which the Shoopmans and their company, Smooth Edge Custom Construction, extended to the south. They were the first to capitalize on a city ordinance change from last year that allows developers to only build “half-streets” when certain conditions are met.

Though the new portion of Jones Street is roughly half the width of a regular roadway, it’s still wide enough to accommodate two lanes of traffic. Such half-streets are only allowed when the property across the road is undeveloped and owned by someone else. The intent is to avoid a situation where the first landowner to develop bears all the costs of building a new street.

It’s also a temporary situation, as the developer must secure the full right-of-way from the owner on the other side of the street to ensure it will eventually be expanded to the standard width. (Reagan Street within the subdivision is full size.)

City officials permitted half-streets to encourage development. They believed multiple entrepreneurs had balked at paying for an entire street that would benefit an adjoining landowner who would share none of the costs.

Even with just a half-street, the Shoopmans expected to spend roughly $650,000 on infrastructure for the first phase of their subdivision, city documents say.

The city had previously made an exception and allowed Park County School District 1 to build a half-street when Southside Elementary School was constructed. While it might look like a driveway, the road that accesses the parking lot on the eastern side of the property is actually half of Day Street.

Petersen will be responsible for expanding the street into a full-fledged roadway whenever he develops his Autumn Grove subdivision alongside the school.

Affordable small lots

Petersen is also planning to use a brand new city ordinance that allows smaller corner lots in newer parts of Powell. The “affordable small lot exemption” allows for lots to be as small as 3,500 square feet, but used to be limited to land within the city’s “original townsite.”

The council recently expanded the exception to other parts of the city, giving its third and final approval to the change on Oct. 6. 

Councilman Tim Sapp cast the lone vote against the measure, believing it would create too much density without meaningfully helping provide affordable housing.

Petersen plans to include smaller corner lots within the first phase of his subdivision and it’s allowing him to fit in two extra homes. He’s guessed those lots will sell for about $15,000 less than those on the regular parcels.

Petersen is hoping to start construction in the spring, but that hinges on council approval and how quickly the city installs a new sewer main in the area.

A formal public hearing on the Autumn Grove annexation will be held in the near future.

The Shoopmans intend to eventually extend their development further south as well, but that timeline will hinge on how quickly the initial phase progresses.