A 26-acre parcel belonging to Center Grove Community Schools was removed from a housing project rezoning by the Greenwood City Council.
Provided by the city of Greenwood
A planned housing development on Greenwood’s southwest side is now a little smaller after the city council rescinded part of a rezone.
Council members unanimously voted 7-0 Monday night to approve removing a 26-acre parcel of land previously rezoned for a planned 380-home housing development at the northwest corner of Honey Creek and Smokey Row roads. Members Michael Williams and Ezra Hill were absent.
Miami-based Lennar Homes came before the city council late last year to ask to rezone about 245.1 acres of agricultural land to build up to 380 single-family homes in a subdivision called “Honey Creek Farms.” About 172 of the 245 acres were to be rezoned to residential large zoning, which allows for homes larger than traditional suburban-style homes. These homes will likely be priced between $500,000 to $600,000, the developer said at the time.
The remaining acreage, about 72 acres or so, was to be zoned as residential medium. These homes will range in price from $400,000 to $500,000.
Council members voted 8-0 to approve the project in January.
However, about 26 acres of land was removed Monday after officials discovered it had inadvertently been included in the project. The parcel of land belongs to Center Grove Community School Corp., which purchased it for a future elementary school in December 2023.
Between the time the rezoning recommendation was certified by the city’s Advisory Plan Commission to the city council, the parcel was sold to Center Grove, leaving about 219 acres to be developed for the housing project. This was not discovered by city staff until after the council adopted the ordinance, said Shawna Koons, city attorney.
Center Grove had not consented or entered a petition to rezone, one of the requirements for a rezone. Without the authority to zone the land and change its zoning, legal staff thought it was best to amend the original rezoning ordinance to reflect the original acreage being rezoned, the parcel being removed, the final acreage and acknowledge the error, Koons said.
While the 26-acre parcel has been removed, the rest of the project remains unchanged. With this change, the development will have about 46 fewer homes, documents show.
