Bargersville residents protest a vote to rezone the 40-acre Fulmer property from agricultural use to R-1 residential during Tuesday’s town council meeting. The residents are opposed to a 36-lot development that would go on the land.
ANDY BELL-BALTACI | DAILY JOURNAL
With town council approval, a 40-acre parcel in Bargersville is one step closer to being developed with 36 custom homes.
The Bargersville Town Council unanimously approved rezoning from agricultural to R-1 residential a parcel known as the Fulmer property on Morgantown Road across the street from Hickory Stick Golf Club. Greenwood-based developer J. Greg Allen and Associates requested the rezone to build about 36 custom homes which would be priced between about $750,000 and $1.2 million.
As a condition of the approval, developers must meet certain criteria town officials have required for the development. J. Greg Allen was asked to amend the plan to include more green space for residents and a guarantee the development will not exceed 36 homes. Ranch-style houses in the neighborhood must be at least 2,200 square feet, while two-story houses must be at least 2,800 square feet, including at least 1,600 square feet on the first floor, council members said.
The town’s plan commission will likely get an amended proposal from J. Greg Allen sometime in the first several months of the year. After hearing the proposal, they will vote to approve the primary plat if developers meet the requirements, said Joe Csikos, the town’s director of development.
About 30 people came to the town council meeting Tuesday to protest the proposal. Some carried signs that said “Say no to rezone,” the same phrase has been displayed on signs around Bargersville in the weeks leading up to the meeting.
Residents who live near the development objected for several reasons, one of the chief ones being the increased traffic that would travel on Morgantown Road. They’re concerned because the two-lane road is already congested with traffic going to and from nearby Center Grove schools. They worry that the issue will be exacerbated by the completion of Interstate 69. Increased traffic would decrease the quality of life for nearby residents, said Mary Lollar, who lives in a neighborhood at Hickory Stick.
“My husband has three fans running at night to block the noise of traffic on the road,” she said. “You’re making this into a metropolitan area, which it’s not. People can’t ride their bikes anymore because it’s not safe.”
The average lot size of the development would be 0.81 acres, though R-1 zoning allows up to two homes an acre. Plan commission members pointed out during their November meeting the neighborhood would be relatively low density compared to others in Bargersville. The town’s comprehensive plan allows for up to six lots per acre in other zoning classifications.
Halting development along Morgantown isn’t a reasonable request, said Bob Wildman, an attorney representing J. Greg Allen.
“I think they just don’t want any development here at all, which is just not realistic,” Wildman said. “The Fulmers are residents here and they have the right to move forward.”
Other Bargersville residents said the houses wouldn’t match the rural character of the surrounding land west of Morgantown Road and would have a negative impact on property values. Kristina Boye, who lives in the Persimmon Woods subdivision west of the parcel, read a statement prepared by nearby residents James and Stacia Ward.
“It is more likely that the development of the property will ultimately come in at a much lower price, thereby negatively impacting the values of the estate-like properties having several acres up and down Morgantown Road,” Boye said. “This conceptual plan fails to take into consideration the conservation and promotion of property values throughout Bargersville.”
J. Greg Allen has developed homes and commercial properties in the Greenwood area over the past several decades including the Claybrooke Commons, Greenwood Springs and Emerson Pointe shopping centers.
Greg Allen, CEO of the company, said the homes would meet luxury standards. He said the quality of the homes would be similar to those in the Aberdeen subdivision, a custom home wellness community developed by Bargersville-based Duke Homes.
“This will be a trophy community for us,” Allen said.
