FORTVILLE — Plans for a new neighborhood that would’ve been on Fortville’s south side were scrapped after leaders said it wouldn’t have been a good fit for the town.
Indianapolis-based Arbor Homes pursued the community of 317 single-family houses on about 112 acres at the northeast corner of Fortville Pike and County Road 850N. The developer had wanted to annex the area into town and get it rezoned to a planned unit development, which would have set development standards Arbor Homes and the town agreed to.
Many of Arbor Homes’ proposed standards didn’t align with the standards in the town’s planned unit development template, however, and the Fortville Plan Commission gave the proposal a negative recommendation in July.
The developer made changes to its plans, including doing away with the option of vinyl siding, agreeing to the town’s desired curb style and widening lots and driveways.
But the plan commission again gave the proposal a negative recommendation last month. Members referred to how the town’s comprehensive plan calls for the area Arbor Homes was eyeing to remain agricultural. They also cited how even after the developer’s changes, the plans still deviated from the town’s planned unit development standards, including by proposing minimum single-story house sizes of 1,300 square feet when the town calls for 1,700. Commission members echoed concerns from residents about the loss of some of the woods on the property if the development came to fruition and the overall quality of Arbor Homes’ product.
Christian Rector, director of land acquisition and entitlement for Arbor Homes, defended the quality of the company’s work at a Fortville Town Council meeting earlier this week and pointed to demand for housing in the greater Indianapolis area. He reported appreciation of homes in Fortville’s Wyndstone neighborhood, which Arbor Homes also developed. Rector added home prices in the proposed development would’ve averaged about $260,000, which he said was in the 79th percentile for the town.
The standards in Fortville’s planned unit development template are difficult to meet, Rector said.
“I don’t believe there will be a builder that can come through and say they can meet every single one of them for a community development like this,” he said. “Outside of a small custom neighborhood, I just don’t think it’s feasible.”
He also said there’s a lot of demand for 1,300-square-foot houses and encouraged officials to reconsider the town comprehensive plan’s visualization of the location as agricultural.
“This is the next logical develop-able site in this area of Fortville,” Rector said.
Fortville Town Council members Becky Davis, Tonya Davis, Robert Holland and Libby Wyatt voted in favor of accepting the plan commission’s recommendation to reject the proposal. Fritz Fentz was not present.
Council members thanked Arbor Homes for making as many changes as it did, but also said that they trust the plan commission’s guidance.
“They have concerns that I think are justified,” Tonya Davis said, adding she’s also heard from constituents who opposed the proposal.
Rector said Arbor Homes won’t be going back to the drawing board this time.
“We have done everything we can to make this work,” he said.
Several meeting attendees thanked council members for their decision, including Terry Wheeler, who lives near where the proposed neighborhood would have gone.
“I think if you are going to develop that land, that you can do better than what they were proposing, and I do thank you for listening to us,” she said.
