HANCOCK COUNTY — Planning officials granted a request to delay consideration of a proposed neighborhood to give opponents more time to work with the developer and secure legal counsel.
D.R. Horton, a home builder with headquarters in Arlington, Texas, wants to develop 111 single-family lots on nearly 60 acres near the southeast corner of South County Road 800W and U.S. 52 near New Palestine. The planned subdivision, called Fields at Sugar Creek, would abut Schildmeier Village, where many residents oppose the proposal.
The Hancock County Plan Commission was slated to consider a primary plat for Fields at Sugar Creek earlier this week. Opponents asked the commission to wait to give them more time to work with the developer, hire a lawyer and prepare a response to the proposal. That request received 4-3 approval from the commission. It was the second time the proposed development was continued, following D.R. Horton’s successful request to do so in February.
Mike Dale, executive director of the Hancock County Area Plan Commission, said at the meeting that he’s received about 40 emails and letters in opposition to the proposal.
Fields at Sugar Creek has drawn opposition from Schildmeier Village residents and others in the area since its very first iteration last year, when D.R. Horton sought a rezoning for the project and nearly twice as many lots on about 81 acres. The plan commission sent that request to the county commissioners with a negative recommendation, shortly after which the developer withdrew its petition.
The current proposal, however, aligns with the site’s existing zoning standards, officials say. The county’s planning and highway departments along with the surveyor’s office have signed off on it.
Dale noted the county’s comprehensive plan designates the area for suburban residential uses with a maximum density of 2.5 dwelling units per acre. Fields at Sugar Creek would have about 1.8 dwelling units per acre.
“It meets our standards, and I can’t see a lawful way for staff to recommend denial,” Dale said.
Brian Tuohy, an Indianapolis-based lawyer representing D.R. Horton in the project, echoed that notion in his objection to the request to continue.
“There is no discrepancy, there’s no waivers, there’s no variances we are seeking,” Tuohy said.
Renee Oldham, a plan commission member, moved to deny the request to continue. She was joined in the vote by Michael Long and Tom Nigh, but opposed by a narrow majority made up of Bill Bolander, Wendell Hester, Byron Holden and Bill Spalding.
Bolander then moved to continue the matter to next month’s meeting and was joined by Hester, Holden and Spalding while opposed by Long, Nigh and Oldham.
Plans call for two streets in Fields at Sugar Creek to connect with cul-de-sacs in Schildmeier Village, joining the two neighborhoods. Opponents cite how pedestrians use the streets in Schildmeier Village due to the neighborhood’s lack of sidewalks. They fear the increase in traffic through their neighborhood created by Fields at Sugar Creek, along with the lack of street lights in Schildmeier Village, will put those pedestrians in danger.
Opponents also worry the new houses would be less valuable than theirs, causing their property values to drop. They’re concerned their utility costs will increase in order to fund extending utility infrastructure to the new neighborhood as well.
The matter of connecting the two neighborhoods’ streets may be a sticking point for the proposal. Dale noted the county’s thoroughfare plan encourages safe and convenient connections between proposed new streets and existing ones. The county highway department opposes not connecting the streets, he added.
D.R. Horton, however, is willing to forgo the connections if county officials don’t object. Dale said he does not object.
But Bolander noted a public safety official has indicated the amount of proposed homes dictates there should be at least two ways into the neighborhood. If the street connections to Schildmeier Village aren’t made, that leaves just one entrance — off County Road 800W — in D.R. Horton’s plans.
The plan commission is now slated to consider the proposal at its May 25 meeting.
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Fields at Sugar Creek
- 111 lots
- 59.4 acres
- Southeast corner of U.S. 52 and County Road 800W
- D.R. Horton
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WHAT: Hancock County Area Plan Commission meeting
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 25
WHERE: Hancock County Courthouse Annex, 111 American Legion Place, Greenfield
WHY: The commission will consider a plans for a proposed subdivision near New Palestine
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