Greenwood’s city council rejected two separate proposals that would have brought nearly 250 new homes to the city’s west side.
Indianapolis-based Arbor Homes wanted to annex about 100 acres of farmland to build two separate subdivisions at Honey Creek Road and County Road 125 West. But area homeowners and residents said it would not fit the aesthetic of the area along the Pleasant Township and White River Township line.
The developer’s plans called for 163 retirement homes on one 60-acre property along County Road 125 West, just south of the Timber Valley subdivision and Pleasant Crossing Elementary; and 78 single-family homes on the other 39-acre property at 3481 S. Honey Creek Road, less than a mile north of Tracy Road, according to city documents. Both subdivisions would be part of Pleasant Township in the Clark-Pleasant school district.
The city’s Advisory Plan Commission sent unfavorable recommendations for both proposals to the Greenwood City Council in June after listening to an hour of public comments from nearby homeowners against the subdivisions.
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The city council held a virtual public hearing Monday, and several area homeowners and residents attended once again to rally against the developer’s plans. Most met in a single location together to watch the meeting, and others spoke individually over the phone.
After more than an hour of listening to comments from the nearby homeowners, and the developer, the nine-member council rejected both annexation proposals in a split 4-5 vote.
Two of the top arguments against the plans included Greenwood’s need for more high-end executive housing, and more homes means more traffic on Honey Creek Road.
Linda Sargent, a nearby homeowner, said a densely-populated subdivision would add too much traffic on Honey Creek Road, which is congested as is.
"Honey Creek Road is a two-lane country road, and in some places … it’s already dangerous," Sargent said. "It would need a lot of repair if we put 500 more cars on that road. This road simply cannot maintain that traffic safely."
Sargent, along with the rest of the homeowners who attended the meeting also shared worries that the proposed subdivision would not fit with the surrounding area’s aesthetic. Nearby neighborhoods — Timber Valley and Cobblestone — include large, high-end homes with full brick exteriors, and there are several large million-dollar homes outside the subdivisions near Honey Creek that sit on at least an acre or more of land.
Roger Miller, who owns a $1.3 million home on Stone Ridge Court — where several million-dollar custom homes sit off Honey Creek Road — was concerned low-priced homes bring down the value in houses like his, he said. He put his house on the market recently, and he was concerned buyers are not interested because of the surrounding area.
"If it were in Carmel, it would be sold. The problem is that we are being surrounded by a lot of low-price homes," Miller said. "I wish we would have known 17 years ago, and built this home in Carmel where there are visionaries. Where are the visionaries in Greenwood?"
Eric Prime, an attorney representing Arbor Homes, said there may be a desire for more high-end homes in Greenwood, but 8% of residents can actually afford high-priced homes, based on reported yearly incomes. The price of homes within the Clark-Pleasant school district averages about $225,000, and the proposed single-family Arbor Homes would have likely sold for around $360,000, he said. The retirement homes were planned to sell for around $260,000, he said.
"The problem is when you talk about estate lots, and make those kind of comments, if you push yourself into that next highest range, only 8% of people in Greenwood can afford homes half a million dollars or upward," Prime said.
Prime used Stone Ridge Court as an example for why estate homes are not best fit for the area. The data he collected showed that it took a decade between 1999 and 2009 for the area to be built out after lots were platted for estate-level custom homes.
"There just isn’t a heavy market for custom homes right now … there just isn’t an appetite, and that’s in Center Grove," Prime said.
Council member Dave Lekse was one of five on the council voting against the proposed land annexation, and he criticized the city for wanting to rush into selling the land so soon for homes that residents do not want.
"Are we that parred up that we need their real estate taxes next year? If we are, that’s sad. So, what’s the rush?" Lekse said. "And what should we tell people who want to come here and relocate their business? That they have to move to Center Grove? They have to move to Carmel? Or should we be able to tell them they have executive real estate in Greenwood?"
Council member J. David Hopper was also against the proposals, but he commended Prime and Arbor Homes for their presentation of the development plans, which made him think about reconsidering his opinion on the subdivisions, he said.
"I still hold out that I am not a fan of vinyl siding, so any chance I can get to get rid of it, I will," Hopper said. "But your argument that there isn’t an appetite for estate homes, even in Center Grove, almost gets me there."
This wasn’t the first time area homeowners and residents rallied against a proposed annexation of the same properties. In 2018, Lennar Homes, a Miami, Florida-based developer, wanted to build as many as 222 single-family homes ranging from $290,000 to $375,000 on the same 100 acres of land between Honey Creek Road and County Road 125 West.
That annexation was also shot down by the city council after residents argued against the proposed subdivision for similar reasons, including home price, lot size, drainage and increased traffic on narrow, two-lane roads.
