FORTVILLE — Planning officials in Fortville are asking the town council to deny a proposed neighborhood of more than 300 houses, saying the project falls short of many local development standards.
Arbor Homes wants to build the subdivision of single-family homes on about 112 acres at the northeast corner of Fortville Pike and County Road 850N. The neighborhood would be annexed into the town.
The developer wants to rezone the property to a planned unit development, which, if approved, would permit the project to proceed under standards Arbor Homes and the town council agree to.
But many of the standards Arbor Homes wants don’t align with the town’s planned unit development standards, Fortville planning and building director Adam Zaklikowski said at a recent plan commission meeting.
One of the most significant ways the proposed development doesn’t align with town standards is its intention to allow vinyl siding, Zaklikowski said. Under Fortville’s standards, fiber cement siding is required.
Zaklikowski also said he feels the proposal doesn’t rise to the level of three other planned unit developments that the town has approved — Park Creek, Northwest Fortville and Mt. Vernon North.
“Especially from a planning perspective, we absolutely want to be pro-business and we want to be business friendly,” Zaklikowski said. “We want builders to come in and develop good product, but I think there becomes a time where it just doesn’t hit that minimum threshold that the community has established.”
Arbor Homes has agreed to some of town staff’s suggestions, like repaving and widening County Road 850N and installing rapid flashing beacon signs at crosswalks near intersections across Fortville Pike. The developer hasn’t budged on other requests, however, like nixing the vinyl siding option, increasing additional side yard setbacks and changing curb styles.
Paul Munoz, entitlement director for Arbor Homes, defended the company’s choice to offer vinyl siding.
“We believe it’s a durable product,” he said. “Low to no maintenance in the long run, which is what a lot of our buyers find is important to them… The vinyl of the ‘90s and 2000s is not the vinyl of today by any stretch of the imagination.”
Zaklikowski recommended the plan commission provide a negative recommendation to the town council. The panel agreed.
The town council will vote on the rezoning on first reading at its Monday, July 20, meeting. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Town of Fortville Municipal Building, 714 E. Broadway St.
Fortville residents who attended the plan commission meeting commented on traffic, town standards and drainage.
Julie Russell, who lives near the proposed development, said she doubted the road could handle even more vehicles, adding traffic in the area already is problematic.
Judy Gable, who also lives near the proposed development, said it shouldn’t be allowed to skirt local rules.
“If they can’t meet our standards, we shouldn’t lower our standards,” she said. “That’s not what we set them for.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
WHAT: Fortville Town Council
WHEN: 7 p.m. Monday, July 20
WHERE: Town of Fortville Municipal Building, 714 E. Broadway St., Fortville
WHY: The town council will vote on a rezone for a proposed 317-home neighborhood
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