In the future, new homes built in Bargersville would have minimal vinyl siding and instead be built with brick or stone, leading to higher home values in the growing community.
Bargersville is the most recent community to consider restrictions that limit the materials that can be used on the outside of new homes. In 2015, Greenwood made changes that required home developers to use more brick, have larger lot sizes and include additional architectural features.
The goal is to limit development in the town to high-end neighborhoods, with home values topping $275,000, to ensure new residents are paying enough in property taxes to support the services they need, town council member Ken Zumstein said.
The new rules also would set a higher standard of development for the community, he said.
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This week, the Bargersville Town Council unanimously approved rules that would change what exterior materials home builders can use. The new rules require that the first floor of every new home be completely encased in brick or other masonry material, rather than vinyl or cement-fiber siding. Current rules only require at least 80 percent of the front of the first floor to include brick or masonry.
Town officials say the changes are needed to ensure the town is getting enough property tax revenue and to set a higher standard of development. In the past year, the town council has twice rejected rezoning requests from developers because the proposed homes were not designed to the quality the town wants, Zumstein said.
Bargersville has grown from a population of 4,000 in 2010 to about 7,000 in 2016, according to U.S. Census data. About 100 new houses are being built each year in multiple neighborhoods, which have room for hundreds of additional houses.
But a growing population also raises concerns about how the town will manage paying for the services it needs to provide, including repairing roads and hiring additional police officers, Zumstein said.
For the town to receive the amount of property taxes needed to provide services, new homes need to be built in the $275,000 to $300,000 price range, he said. If the amount of new services needed for new neighborhoods costs more than the new revenue coming in, town officials would have to look for other ways to bring in funding, Zumstein said.
The new rules are an essential step to ensure that the town can continue to provide the same level of services to its residents, Zumstein said.
Zumstein said he wasn’t concerned about having homes available for residents that are unable to afford the new ones, saying that the town already has an abundance of lower-priced homes.
In 2015, Greenwood attempted more expansive changes to its home construction rules, with the aim of raising home values and collecting more in property taxes. The city also added rules about lot sizes, garages and other architectural features.
Developers filed a lawsuit after the city told them they had to adjust how they were constructing houses in neighborhoods already in progress. The lawsuit was settled last year, with the city agreeing to drop some of its restrictions in neighborhoods where construction was either planned or underway.
Bargersville’s new rules won’t apply to any neighborhoods that are currently being developed, and those will be able to built as planned, planning director Julie Young said.
But if developers purchase land and want to have it rezoned for residential use, they would be required to build homes under the new standards, Young said.
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Here’s a look at how the home construction standards would change in Bargersville in each of the town’s residential zoning classes. Those range from R-1, which has the fewest homes allowed per acre, to R-4, which allows the densest construction. The rules would impact only properties that are rezoned after the new rules are approved.
Current rules
R-1: The entire exterior of the first floor must be made of brick or other masonry materials
R-2, R-3 and R-4: 80 percent of the exterior of the front side of the first floor must be made of brick or other masonry materials
Proposed rules
R-1: The entire exterior of the first floor, along with the exterior of the front side of the second flood, must be made of brick or other masonry materials
R-2, R-3, R-4: The entire exterior of the first floor must be made of brick or other masonry materials
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