A proposed apartment complex just east of Greenwood’s airport failed in a nearly split city council vote Monday night.
The Greenwood City Council voted 5-3, with one member absent, against the rezoning request from Indianapolis-based Muesing Management Company. Muesing submitted a request to the Greenwood Advisory Plan Commission last month requesting to rezone 16 acres located at 374 North Emerson Avenue from industrial to multi-family residential for a five-building, four-story apartment complex with approximately 342 units.
The plan commission gave it a favorable recommendation with eight commitments in a 6-3 vote. The recommendation was debated at the plan commission meeting, with several residents voicing concerns about traffic and the height of the buildings.
During Monday’s city council meeting, Dwight Howard, who would have lived behind the complex, told the council he was concerned about the aesthetics of an apartment complex in the neighborhood, along with the lack of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval and the increased traffic it would bring to Emerson Avenue.
City council member Linda Gibson was also concerned about how an apartment complex would fit into the neighborhood. Muesing’s representative said the company would add privacy fencing along the southern edge of the property, but Gibson didn’t think it would be enough to block the view of the complex from neighboring homes, she said.
“People back there (in the neighborhood) really do not want four stories looking down in to them,” Gibson said. “In their backyards — even with a privacy fence — it’s not going to be private.”
Muesing officials funded a traffic study to analyze potential traffic impacts from the complex at five intersections on Emerson Avenue — County Line Road, Walmart Drive, Wilson Drive, Alpine Way and East Main Street. The study did not find that the expected traffic volume complex would cause the need for any improvements at any of the above intersections, said Tom Vander Luitgaren, an attorney representing the developer.
During council discussions on Monday, city council member Bradley Pendleton expressed concerns about the development. He also vowed to vote down any development that would add bring in new residents until public safety staffing catches up to the city’s population.
“In the past, I’ve been pretty (much) for development thinking we would have a plan for public safety, but we don’t,” Pendleton said. “Until we have that, I don’t see the need to amend zoning to add more and more population until we address our police and fire (staffing).”
Pendleton voiced about staffing for the fire and police departments during the 2021 budget process. Though the city will add three full-time firefighters and three full-time police officers next year, Pendleton said in September that is not enough.
The largest chunk of Greenwood’s budget would go toward public safety, and with the three additional positions for both departments, the police department would have 82 full-time officers and staff, and the fire department would have 67 full-time firefighters and staff. Both are several dozen employees behind the national standard for police and fire protection.
Pendleton voted against the rezone, along with Gibson, and council members Ron Bates, Bob Dine and Michael Williams.
In other news
The city council also passed an ordinance establishing their salaries for 2022 Monday night.
The second would give city council members a 1.5% raise, along with a 1.4% raise for the council president next year. The ordinance had to be reintroduced after the council failed to pass it during its Oct. 18 meeting, voting 4-4 with one member absent. Pendleton, Ron Bates, David Hopper and Michael Williams voted no at the time.
The council passed the salary ordinance in a 5-3 vote, with Bates, Pendleton and Williams voting against it.
