Bargersville Town Council takes no action on Goddard School rezone

Bargersville Town Council members were torn Tuesday on a rezone for a private school and child care facility at the corner of Whiteland and Saddle Club roads.

Council members could see a need for a child care center, but didn’t think the location was right for a proposed Goddard School.

CrossRoad Engineers requested a rezone of a 2.3-acre property on behalf of Goddard, an early child care and educational franchise. Goddard operates in 37 states and Washington, D.C., and including locations in Greenwood and Southport. The Greenwood location has served more than 1,700 students in the Center Grove area. There are currently waitlists for classes, indicating a need for child care in the area, CrossRoad Engineers representative previously said.

The proposed location in Bargersville would have featured a 12,725-square-foot facility with two outdoor playgrounds and 54 parking spaces. At full capacity, the child care facility would have served 175 to 200 students ages six weeks to six years old, and brought more than 30 jobs to the area, said Greg Ilko, vice president of CrossRoad Engineers.

Ilko came before the Bargersville Town Council Tuesday night on behalf of property owner Sahil, LLC to present the request and answer questions. He also addressed concerns surrounding neighbors had about traffic and property values.

The Greenwood location sees anywhere from 70 to 100 cars at peak pick-up and drop-off times and around 40 cars come through an hour during those hours, Illko said. This number is a little less than what the Bargersville location expects to have at full capacity, assuming that every customer is dropping off their child in a vehicle, he said.

The developer has also been in contact with Center Grove Community Schools about their bus schedules. District officials support the child care center, but sometimes busses have trouble turning when there is a car in the intersection, Ilko said.

Property values around the Greenwood location have not been negatively affected by the school, and have increased, if anything, he said. The high visibility of the location and the proximity to area schools make it the “perfect” location for a child care center, Ilko said.

Goddard’s plans have been changed several times to accommodate concerns from neighbors and council members. The proposed building was shifted 25 feet to the left to accommodate proximity concerns. They also committed to making road improvements near the project area, he said.

Since the first public hearing on the project, the property owner has committed to child care as the sole use of the property, along with commitments to make the building “home-like” and single-story. Additional commitments include turning off and dimming lighting during non-business hours, undulating mounds planted with evergreen trees and a 6-foot vinyl privacy fence on the east side of the property, Ilko said.

Although a public hearing wasn’t scheduled for Tuesday, town council members allowed the public to speak about the project.

Mike Robard, who lives next door to the property, has been opposed to the rezoning of the property. He sees a need for child care, but is concerned that the location isn’t a right fit, he said.

Primary concerns that nearby homeowners have expressed include traffic, property values and the location.

Robard believes that property values will be affected, despite what Ilko said. A child care center would negatively impact the property value of his home and he doesn’t think homes surrounding the proposed center are the target audience, Robard said.

Eric Flueckiger, president of the Wyncrest Homeowners Association, told the council he and 76 other neighbors requested that the council deny the rezone due to traffic safety concerns. It is already difficult to pull out of the subdivision and adding even a small amount of traffic would “have a big impact,” he said.

“We acknowledge that there is a need for additional child care and acknowledge that the Goddard School is considered one of the finest early childhood development schools that’s available. It’s just not the right location,” Flueckiger said.

Paul Liguori, who lives near the Greenwood location, said he hasn’t seen or heard of any issue with traffic coming in and out of the Goddard School.

Council member Andrew Greenwood has “mixed emotions” about the rezone, he said. He saw the need for a child care center, but also understood residents’ concerns.

“Everyone needs to understand this is not a simple task that’s at our hand,” Greenwood said.

Traffic is a concern in the area, but the school would not make any difference, Greenwood said. It is a separate issue on its own, he said.

Other council members agreed that the decision, or lack thereof, was not about the school, but about the location of it. They needed to weigh the residents’ concerns with the needs of the town, council members said.

Greenwood wished there was more time to investigate the proposal further, he said. He later suggested the developer reach out to Center Grove to find another site for the project.

“I appreciate all the hard work you did. It’s a hard one,” Greenwood said. “It is needed and our community might be worse off with not having it.”

Council members did not take action on the rezone Tuesday. With no action by the town council, the plan commission’s unfavorable recommendation will take effect Feb. 18, which is when the council’s time to consider it expires, officials said.