Midlands town gives final approval for annexation of nearly 300-home subdivision
Officials for the town of Lexington signed off on a nearly 300-home subdivision that sits just outside the town limits at its Monday night meeting.
The plan, to bring 299 single-family homes to a 191-acre plot of land along Barr Road and just off West Main Street, was given final approval after initially being recommended for approval by the town’s planning commission in July 2025. Initial plans called for 308 homes, but were whittled down to 299.
Town council members voted unanimously, with Councilman Will Allen absent, to approve the developer’s request to annex into the town, which council members posited would require developers to make certain improvements to roadways near the subdivision.
The developers, Meritage Homes, are projected to invest nearly $1 million dollars in roadway repairs near the planned subdivision, Transportation Director Randy Edwards said during a December council meeting.
Those traffic improvement plans include adding turn lanes and traffic signals at Barr and Wildlife roads. As well as turn lanes along Barr Road near Satcher Road. The construction of the homes, set to be complete by 2033, is anticipated to add 2,700 cars to the road each day. Last year, the portion of the road near the planned subdivision saw about 12,800 cars on average each day, according to state transportation department data.
Only one person spoke about her concerns with the planned subdivision at the public hearing Monday night. Another person attempted to speak about it after the public hearing session had been closed and was denied.
“[Pleasant Hill Elementary] was built 20 years ago and there’s no expectation of improving or changing the school as it is now, so there’s a huge concern there,” Erin Smith, who lives near the planned subdivision, told council Monday.
She expressed concerns about how the town was going to coordinate with the school district after the Lexington County Council dropped its requirement of getting feedback from local school districts before moving forward with housing developments in October.
But town council members and staff said during the meeting Monday, and an earlier meeting in December, that the annexation of the land would give the town more ability to do things like charge impact fees on the developer and require traffic upgrades.
“We’re getting a ton of traffic improvements because we actually have a plan,” Councilman Gavin Smith said Monday. “If that same development had been built in the county, we would not likely get those traffic improvements because there’s no plan.”
