Meadowbrook plat vote in Bargersville delayed by lingering questions

A contentious 130-acre planned unit development is raising concerns among some Bargersville officials.

The project, dubbed Meadowbrook, has been through multiple changes since being introduced earlier this year.

Forestar Real Estate Group, Inc. requested primary plat approval at Monday’s Bargersville Plan Commission meeting, but no decision was made after concerns of drainage, land dedication and commitments were brought up. The Plan Commission continued the primary plat approval to a special meeting set for Nov. 4.

The plans have been trimmed down during the planning process, concerning some town council members at a January meeting and causing a delay in the final vote. The original site plans presented to the plan commission had a total of 710 units including apartments, townhomes and single-family homes. It would have also designated right of way for a future collector road on the west side of the development along the railroad tracks.

Plans were revised in January to remove the apartments, upgrade some single-family homes and add additional architectural features to the townhomes. The single-family homes and townhomes were added in place of the proposed apartments.

For some of the single-family homes, the developer enlarged lot sizes from 40 feet to 50 feet by adding a third garage space. The collector road was also relocated at the town council’s request. Developers also committed to funding a future stoplight and will gift the town $250,000 to do so.

Now, the planned unit development will have 415 lots and five blocks of commercial space. It will feature detached single-family homes, townhomes, five commercial blocks and a five-acre public park to be dedicated to the town. There are 140 single-family lots proposed on the western half of the development on the west side of State Road 135, 128 single-family lots on the eastern half and 147 townhomes.

The recorded PUD from April commits to limit the number of townhomes to 136 units. The additional 11 townhome lots come from an “administrative discussion” and commitment in exchange for the construction of Pennsylvania Pass, a north/south collector road, by the developer on the west side, said Chelsea Fenimore, development planner for Bargersville.

The commercial blocks will be developed in the future separately from the residential components. When they are developed, they will be subject to PUD standards and the unified development code. Forestar has proposed dedicating two eastern commercial blocks to the town, Fenimore said.

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In August, the town council approved a construction waiver standard to reduce the centerline radius of certain internal curved streets in the development to 150 feet with two conditions: restricting parking to one side of the street opposite of mailboxes and no overnight parking. The developer submitted revised plans in pursuance of a Technical Advisory Committee report, which was reviewed and completed in September.

Dax Norton, Bargerville’s community development director, gave an update at Monday night’s meeting based on conversations with town council members. Norton has been in discussion with council members who have concerns about the new layout of the townhomes, concerns about an MOU to build the collector road and requested a recorded commitment to allow 18-month or longer leases in the development. The dedication of two blocks was also a “major issue” the town council had with the development, he said.

The concerns were a part of hours-long conversations with council members, Norton said.

Town Attorney David Yount said a commitment to build the collectors road should have been recorded in writing during discussions in April, but an MOU in the works will clean up the commitment.

Eric Prime, an attorney representing Forestar, explained what led to the layout of the townhomes. When designing the townhomes, he said the engineers found that the space was too tight and did not work. Residents would be basically walking out their front door and be on the road, he said. When they reconfigured the layout of the townhomes, they found space for 11 additional units and town officials “administratively approved” the change because it was less than 5% change, he said.

The 5% change was “baked in” the PUD ordinance to account for minor changes in the primary plat without having to appear before a board every time, Prime said.

One commissioner praised the new plan for listening to discussions and adding a collector road that will help divert traffic off of SR 135. Commissioners also asked questions about what constitutes a 5% change in standard and asked about the trade-off between the collector road and townhomes.

If the MOU and communication from administrative approval had been done, the plan commission wouldn’t have any issues, one member said.

Commission members also raised concerns about the dedication of the two blocks. A motion from the town council does exist to reflect the dedication, Yount said, but is not reflected in the approved minutes or in the ordinance. Officials will have to rectify the issue in a legal document, Norton said.

Prime said the dedication could occur following closing on the property, which is currently scheduled for March 2025. Following that, there is a five to seven-year timeline before the development would be built out, Prime said.

During a public hearing, residents asked questions about drainage issues and stoplights. One resident asked about a passing blister on his property that neighbors the development.

Cavett Hesson, who owns property adjacent to the development, said he would be significantly impacted by noise and light pollution at a proposed intersection. Hesson also raised concerns about high-speed traffic near the development.

Ultimately, commissioners voted 6-0 to continue the approval subject to input from the town council on town home configuration, formal deeding of land to the town and the redevelopment commission, the commitment to build an internal collector road and the commitment to require a minimum 18-month lease.

The Bargersville Plan Commission set a special meeting on Nov. 4 to make a decision.