FORTVILLE — Leaders in Fortville are considering annexing about 112 acres where a developer wants to build more than 300 houses.
The site is in the northeast corner of North Fortville Pike and County Road 850N. Byers Farm LLC, the landowner, seeks a voluntary annexation.
Paul Munoz of Indianapolis-based Arbor Homes said at a Fortville Town Council meeting earlier this month that the company’s current layout for the project calls for 328 lots with a minimum size of 60 by 125 feet.
Adam Zaklikowski, Fortville’s planning director, said town staff are working with Arbor Homes on the layout and development standards for the project. He said the public will be able to to see those details at the town council’s next meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, June 1. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting will be held via the free videoconferencing platform Zoom. The meeting ID is 869 6258 3863.
Zaklikowski also said the council has to hold two more votes and a public hearing on the annexation and consider a report estimating its fiscal impact on the town. The council and the Fortville Plan Commission have to approve the project’s layout and development standards as well.
“This is really the first step in a long process,” Zaklikowski said.
Council members voted unanimously in favor of the annexation on first reading on May 18.
Becky Davis, a Fortville Town Council member, told the Daily Reporter that growth in the area is inevitable and that the soundest strategy is to manage it as much as possible.
“The best we can do is annex it into town so we can make them follow the standards that we want,” she said.
Davis added she often hears that the growth will overcrowd the area’s school system.
“But look at all the housing in McCordsville,” she continued. “They go into our school system, so I think that maybe Fortville should get some of the tax money from the new housing too.”
Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation recently adopted a future growth plan to prepare for nearly 2,000 new students expected over the coming decade. The plan calls for turning Fortville Elementary School into an intermediate school and either building a new elementary school or adding one through renovations to the corporation’s administration building.
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WHAT: Fortville Town Council meeting
WHEN: 7 p.m. Monday, June 1
WHERE: Zoom (meeting ID: 869 6258 3863)
WHY: Officials will discuss a proposed annexation and housing development
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