Homes, commercial development, park planned on 288 acres in Edinburgh

The largest development in Edinburgh’s recent history is moving forward following approval at its first hearing.

The Edinburgh Plan Commission unanimously gave a favorable recommendation Tuesday to D.R. Horton of Indiana’s preliminary development plan for Castle Rock. The development is planned on on approximately 288 acres east of U.S. 31 and north of State Road 252.

D.R. Horton is requesting the property to be rezoned as a planned unit development, or PUD. It is currently zoned suburban residential, or R-1, and is part of the Highway Corridor Overlay District.

The development, dubbed Castle Rock, will have 243 acres devoted to single-family homes, 20 acres allocated for commercial development and 25.5 acres that will be donated to the town to create a park.

Proposed development

There will be a maximum of 850 one and two-story single-family homes with attached garages. The development may also include some duplexes, said Brian Tuohy, an attorney representing D.R. Horton.

Two different lot sizes will be available and homes are expected to start at $230,000 to $260,000 for the smaller lots to over $300,000 for the larger lots.

In addition to the park area, Tuohy said there would also be approximately 82 acres of common area throughout the development that would be maintained by a mandatory homeowners’ association, or HOA. There will also be neighborhood amenities including a pool, sports courts, playground and walking trails.

Edinburgh officials have been hoping for a significant housing development for years to reverse the trend of population loss. This development will be the largest Edinburgh has seen in many years.

Tuohy said it addresses the need for housing that is cited in the comprehensive plan.

“It looks like that your comprehensive plan is indicating that diverse housing options are a need in Edinburgh — that there may be a housing shortage — especially with some of the new jobs that are coming to the community,” Tuohy said. “The comprehensive plan says the new housing could not come at a better time, and the town is in desperate need of new development to accommodate current and future residents.”

As for the commercial development, Tuohy said a separate developer will put forward specifics on that at a later time.

Construction for the development will be in phases for between seven to 10 years, Tuohy said. Residents would start moving into the homes in the spring or summer of 2026 if the development is approved this year.

The developer will make improvements at its intersections with U.S. 31, County Road 650 East and County Road 775 South based on requirements set forth by the state, the town and the county for its respective roads.

Public hearing

More than a dozen members of the community attended the meeting and several nearby neighbors made comments about the development during the public hearing on Tuesday.

Residents Gary Waters and Terry Camden laid out concerns about wells running dry, flooding that has happened in the area and street parking that could cause a safety hazard, among other issues.

In their letter, Waters and Camden also opposed two-family dwellings and had concerns that the small lot sizes would turn the duplexes into low-income housing that would impact neighborhood safety and aesthetics.

In response to comments about the small lot sizes, Tuohy said that although D.R. Horton hasn’t built that small of a housing product in the past, there is growing popularity of smaller houses with a lifestyle that has less maintenance.

“(D.R. Horton has) not built that product yet, but there’s some demand, especially in other communities for smaller houses and smaller lots, less maintenance, less cost. So that’s what they were trying to achieve,” Tuohy said.

Resident Karen Hudson said she has been a resident for approximately a year and she quickly learned there would be homes “slammed in behind” her. She said the homes will be intrusive and questioned how stores like JC, Dollar General and CVS will handle the increase in population.

“I’m totally for growth, but I just can’t fathom what this is going to do with the town ..,” she said. “I just am very concerned how it’s going to affect my life, my home that I moved to that I thought would be my forever home. Now I’m kind of second-guessing that but the way it sounds to me, there’s no place to go in Edinburgh because this is coming and it’s going to continue.”

Waters and Camden also requested the developer install a privacy fence or retaining wall instead of the 50-foot wide landscaping buffer, which would include a dirt mound, trees and shrubs. After listening to resident concerns with the buffer,Tuohy said the developers were open to constructing a privacy fence instead if the plan commission thinks it’s a better idea. Later in the meeting, the plan commission added a commitment to build a privacy fence.

A few community members were proponents of the project, saying there is a need for new housing.

“I don’t think 35 (to) 30 [homeowners] — 70 people — should stop a housing addition, I think that our town needs a housing addition,” said resident Gary Simpson.

Tara James, representing one of the landowners and as a member of the economic development board in Bartholomew County, said increasing housing in Edinburgh would improve the employment base.

“We do have a problem with lack of housing in this area and it isn’t happening, how many jobs we can bring to this area,” she said. “So I think this is a crucial part to a bigger picture for our community and state and … our region.”

Plan commission feedback

The plan commission also weighed in on the development before making their vote.

Bill Jones, water superintendent and plan commission member, addressed resident concerns about their wells. He said there was a study done on Edinburgh water in 2020 in the same general area. Although the water table did drop 15 feet during the study, it recovered quickly. He said the town sits on “a really good aquifer” and the town is “in a pretty good standing with water.”

Justin Lollar, Edinburgh fire chief and plan commission member, said he had concerns about how close together the housing units would be from a fire safety perspective if a fire erupted. Tuohy said smaller, closer together housing is becoming popular in other towns and cities. However, Lollar said Edinburgh can’t be compared to other areas because other areas have more manpower and stations to assist if a fire were to happen.

Ray Walton, a plan commission member, said he had “a two-edged sword” when voting on the development since he serves as township trustee and graduated from high school 60 years ago in the area.

“One thing I keep hearing is our school system has got to have kids, we gotta have tax money ..,” he said. “I can sympathize with everybody in here, not wanting stuff in their backyard, but I think it’s very important that we move forward, as painful as it is going to be. I think it’s going to be important for this community.”

There will be more public hearings and votes in the future. With the commission’s favorable recommendation, PUD will go to the town council for a vote on the rezone.

If the council approves the plan, the developer will file a plat that both governing bodies will vote on at a later date.