Indianapolis-based Apollo Developers asked to rezone about 113 acres of land on West Main Street in Greenwood for single-family homes, townhomes and paired villas.
Provided by Apollo Developers
A controversial rezoning proposal on Greenwood’s west side was passed by the city council Monday night.
City council members voted 8-1 Monday to approve rezoning about 113.5 acres of land on both the north and south sides of Main Street next to Greenwood Christian Academy High School and the Community Church of Greenwood. Indianapolis-based Apollo Developers requested to rezone the agricultural land, also known as the Walker Farms property, for single-family homes, paired villas and townhomes.
Council member Teri Manship was the only council member to vote against the rezoning.
Three separate parcels are being considered for rezoning for the project, dubbed Walker Commons. The initial plans called for single-family homes, townhomes and apartments but the apartments were removed and replaced with paired villas following public outcry.
Nearby residents have been opposed to the project, with advisory plan commission hearings on Jan. 8 and Jan. 22 being standing-room only. The plan commission gave a 6-2 favorable recommendation, with member Brian Walker absent, for the project on Jan. 22.
Fewer people attended Monday’s city council meeting than had attended past meetings, with a little more than a dozen or so residents there in person and another six to 12 online via Zoom.
Plans change again
The conceptual plan presented to the city council on Monday was mostly unchanged from the Jan. 22 plan commission meeting. However, there were some changes to accommodate for residents’ concerns.
The north section, located on the north side of Main Street, was rezoned as residential attached for 94 single-family detached homes built by David Weekley Homes. This remained mostly unchanged from Jan. 22, however, changes were made to the street layout.
Originally, this section was planned to connect to Covered Bridge Road through a collector road at a three-way intersection. But now a large roundabout is planned, which will be built around an existing large tree on the property. An interior street loop that connected to the collector road was also removed, with a new road starting south from the roundabout to connect to another interior loop, plans show.
The tree is being saved after several residents had expressed concerns about its possible removal, Prime said.
“They’re going to make every effort they can to save that,” he said.
Apollo’s plans for the rest of the development are largely unchanged.
The west and southern areas of the southwest section, located west of Greenwood Christian Academy High School, would be rezoned to residential attached for 84, ranch-style paired patio homes built by Fischer Homes. The remaining area of the section would be rezoned to residential attached as well, but for 70 townhomes built by Drees Homes, according to Prime’s presentation.
For the southeast section, the northeastern area of the southeast section would be residential attached, consisting of 61 rear-load single-family homes built by David Weekley Homes. The rest of the southeast section would be residential large zoning with 46 large lot, estate homes built by Drees Homes. The estate homes could start in the $650,000 to $700,000 range, according to Prime’s presentation.
Prime described the development as a “legacy” project for the Walkers. Walker Commons could bring an increase of an estimated $1.5 million in property taxes annually, he said.
City documents indicate Apollo plans to provide amenities such as a dog park, playground, pickleball courts and a linear trail connecting the south parcels and surrounding neighborhoods to Westside Park. City planning staff gave a favorable recommendation for the project, though they asked for conditions to include a traffic study, which will also evaluate direct access from Smith Valley Road and prohibit the use of vinyl siding.
The first homes would not be built until the winter of 2025, and the developer expects the first residents to move in in the summer of 2026. It won’t be fully built out until 2030 or 2031, Prime previously said.
Residents speak out
Before Prime’s presentation, a few residents expressed concerns about street connections and traffic during the public comments portion of Monday’s meeting.
Patrick Olmstead, an attorney who lives in the nearby Hunting Creek neighborhood, presented on behalf of concerned residents from 22 neighborhoods. Residents want there to be a road built that directly connects Smith Valley Road and Main Street, he said.
Green Valley resident Mark Webb told the city council the development was an opportunity to build a “proper connection” between Smith Valley Road and Main Street that could be done efficiently and safely. If it was not taken, the city would only be left would be left with “secondary roads” that are not as direct, he said.
Olmstead also brought up a 2009 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study that focused on how public safety response rates quickly dropped in one city after requiring connected streets. He alleged the 2009 study was “deeply flawed” and was concerned city officials were being “led on” by it.
Villa Heights resident Patricia Chaney was one of two residents to give concerns about traffic. She has seen traffic build along Main Street over the years, and now there are times when she can’t get out of her neighborhood. She asked the council to do the “right thing” by requiring a traffic study — a commitment the developer had already agreed to through the plan commission.
Glenn Oak Commons resident Rod Williams was also concerned about the effect the development would have on traffic. Residents want there to be “responsible development,” he said.
Traffic, connecting streets questioned
City council members focused their questioning on several aspects of the project, including density, traffic and street connections to nearby neighborhoods.
Council member David Hopper asked Apollo about why they were putting paired patio homes in the southwest section, with Hopper suggesting that part of the reason for the density is to help pay for sewer infrastructure. Prime said he didn’t know if someone could take one part of the project away and say it’s only for that purpose, but all of the development as a whole would contribute to being able to fund sewers, he said.
Residents have expressed concerns about the patio homes, which could increase traffic, along with street connections, Hopper said. Prime later said they planned to address the traffic and connections by making the patio homes an age-restricted 55 and older section.
To address his density concerns, Hopper suggested the city council put the development in a residential tax increment financing, or TIF, district, with the city helping to pay for utilities. Then the developer could come back with a less dense product, he said.
This ultimately did not happen.
Planning Director Gabe Nelson told the city council that a mix of densities and housing usages would be great for the city as both they and the state are under-housed. If the city only allowed detached single-family homes, then they would restrict people who want to call Greenwood home, he said.
Nelson also discussed the development’s street connections, saying that connectivity between neighborhoods helps disperse traffic. Limiting east-west and north-south connectivity could cause bottlenecks, he said.
Additionally, connectivity would also help with fire department response times in the area, Nelson said. For example, the northernmost section currently has a six-minute average response time, but once developed, this would drop to four minutes, he said.
Council member Erin Betron asked when the results from the developer’s traffic study would come in. Apollo is just starting the process, Prime said.
The scope of the study was the focus of questioning from council member Teri Manship, who wanted to know which intersections would be studied. City Engineer Mark St. John said they typically study major intersections within a certain distance of the development, and for this project that would include Main Street and Yorktown Road, Smith Valley Road and Yorktown, along with all subdivisions entrances and exits nearby.
Manship asked whether this would include every connecting road at the end of the neighborhood, specifically asking about the Covered Bridge Road and Fry Road intersection. St. John said it would not include that intersection as it is farther out from where the study area would be.
“If you get too far away from the study area, it can be hard to accurately project how traffic will disperse into the network,” he said.
St. John later explained, at the request of council member Steve Moan, that traffic studies are done after zoning changes because the plans that the city council typically sees before them when rezonings come up are only concept plans. It is hard to scope out a study at the rezone phase, and while it can be done, it could make the developer more committed to their initial plans presented, he said.
Council member Linda Gibson asked whether St. John was confident there would be an exit onto Smith Valley Road in the southeast section. He said he felt they would “substantially comply” but he wants to make sure it doesn’t negatively affect the Smith Valley Road and Yorktown Road roundabout. There could also be some sight-distance issues with a hill on Smith Valley Road, St. John said.
Amendment proposed
Street connectivity continued to be a concern for Hopper, who later proposed an amendment removing some street connections, adding stop signs at one intersection and restricting turns at another.
Before he did so, Hopper told residents that he didn’t like the Main Street to Smith Valley connections but would support resident’s wishes. Hopper also discussed how long-established neighborhoods in the area never had problems by not having connections to newer neighborhoods.
Additionally, like Manship, he had concerns about traffic speeding down Covered Bridge Road.
Hopper then presented an amendment that:
- Removes street connections at Faith Street in Villa Heights and Leah Lane in Green Valley Estates;
- Prohibits a street connection from being made at Green Valley Drive, although there is no current plans for one;
- Requires a four-way stop at the intersection of Covered Bridge Road and Timber Trail; and
- Makes the southern exit at Smith Valley Road right turn in and out only.
Nelson “strongly opposed” the amendment’s conditions that would remove connectivity. It conflicts with the city’s long-established subdivision ordinance, which calls for street connectivity, and would require the developer to come back to the plan commission to get waivers for noncompliance with the ordinance.
The city council passed the ordinance, so it’s their prerogative to not abide by it, Hopper replied. He later asked residents in the audience if they wanted the Leah Lane connection, and they said they didn’t.
Hopper’s amendment ultimately passed 6-3, with council members Gibson, Mike Campbell and Dave Lekse voting against it.
