March 1, 2007
The
Ellettsville, Indiana Plan Commission met in regular session on Thursday, March 1,
2007, in the Fire Department
Training and Conference Room located at 5080 West State Road 46. Sandra
Hash called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll Call: Members
present were Frank Buczolich,
President (arrived late), Terry Baker, Dianna Bastin, Don Calvert and Dan
Swafford. Sandra Hash, Secretary and
Frank Nierzwicki, Director of Planning Services were also present. Ed Bitner was absent.
Approval of the Minutes
Terry
Baker made a motion to approve the minutes of the February 8, 2007 meeting. Don
Calvert seconded. Motion carried.
New Business
Request for a two-lot Subdivision (Wever
Property Depot Road)
Frank Nierzwicki presented a proposal from petitioner, Roy Wever, to
subdivide one parcel, 009-27660-03, into two parcels. The parcel in question is approximately 3.85
acres in size and the petitioner is requesting one parcel to be 3.35 acres and
the remaining to be half an acre. The
smaller of the two proposed parcels would meet the Town’s minimum lot size
requirement, is served by a private drive and would not require any Town
improvements. The smaller parcel
currently has a house on it and would not require water or sewer
connections. The Planning Staff has
worked with the Town Engineer concerning the petitioner’s proposal and does not
object to the petitioner’s request.
Frank Buczolich arrived and Frank Nierzwicki went over the request. Sandra explained the petitioner is splitting a
parcel for one of his children. Frank Nierzwicki reiterated this request is for one parcel being split
in to two parcels. When there is a new
parcel, it is given a new number for tax purposes.
Sandra
Hash made a motion to approve the request for a two-lot Subdivision on the Wever Property Depot Road. Dianna Bastin
seconded. Roll call vote: Frank Buczolich – yes; Terry Baker – yes;
Dianna Bastin – yes; Don Calvert – yes; Dan Swafford – yes; Sandra Hash –
yes. Motion carried.
Stoneview Residential Community PUD
Amendment (McNeely Street)
Frank Nierzwicki explained this property is located on McNeely Street next to the water tower. The petitioner is requesting a PUD amendment
to his proposed development, Stoneview Residential Community. This parcel was originally approved by the
Ellettsville Plan Commission as a PUD under the name Chandler Place in January
of 1995 with 88 apartment units (68 two bedroom and 20 one bedroom). The parcel is approximately nine acres giving
the unit density of 9.78 per acre. The
Stoneview Residential Community is requesting 56 three bedroom condominiums
giving the proposed development a density of 6.22 per acre. The petitioner is also proposing buffering
between the proposed condominiums along McNeely and Kelli Heights
Subdivision. The buffering along McNeely
would include raised mounds and the buffering along Kelli Heights would include trees and native vegetation. The Planning Department met with Town
Supervisors to consider the Stoneview Development. The Fire, Police and Utilities Department
along with the Town Engineer did not have a problem with the proposed
development. There were some concerns answered regarding this development:
·
The access road
to the condominiums would be private and maintained by the developerment’s Home
Owners Assocation
·
A study would be
conducted for traffic coming in and out of the proposed development at the
McNeely intersection
·
The petitioner
would construct a sidewalk along the whole length of his property
·
The new proposal
should help decrease the current drainage problem in the area
The
Planning Department does not have an objection to the petitioner’s request and
approves the development. Rick Coppock,
Bynum Fanyo went on to discuss a few points:
- Clarified, after the
final layout; this community will have 58 units.
- The Trip Generation
Study from the Institute
of Traffic Engineers compared traffic trips with the 58 Apartment
Units, 88 Apartments Units and 56 Duplex Units
- Outlined the drainage;
the revisions showed the retention pond will have water quality treatment
and drain to the west. The drainage
from the roads and units will go to the retention pond. The new Stormwater Quality Rules will
have the “first flash” held back and absorbed into the ground or filtered
out. He pointed out other drainage
flows on the map
- Each unit will have a
garage; additional parking will be provided on the south end
- The Fire Chief
verified there is ample space for fire truck turnaround
- The adjacent property owners have been
notified by certified mail
- There will be ample parking for all units
with at least three parking spaces per unit.
There
was discussion about how far east and west traffic can be seen.
William
Evans expressed
his a concerns with the existing pond.
Sandra explained some of the past problems with the drainage. This is a natural drain/sinkhole area between
Chandler Drive, Langley Drive and Robin Drive that needs to be kept clear of debris. There was discussion about keeping the drains
clean, adding another drain and homes that had water in their yards. The proposed retention pond will be a couple
of feet deeper. The Homeowner’s
Assocation will be responsible for the upkeep of this area. It was pointed out on the map and clarified the
size of the pipes, where the water will drain to and where the retention ponds
are released.
Ted
Robertson asked
when a developer develops land; how do they know the demand? Who is that up to? Frank Nierzwicki said it is not the Town’s determination but there is
a market driven by surveys and watching trends.
He clarified these are condominiums selling for around $90,000.
Tom Forester, the developer of Stoneview went over the design,
floor plans and exterior of these units.
Dianna
Bastin made a motion we accept Stoneview Residential Community PUD as
amended. Terry Baker seconded. Roll call vote: Frank Buczolich – yes; Terry Baker – yes;
Dianna Bastin – yes; Don Calvert – yes; Dan Swafford – yes; Sandra Hash –
yes. Motion carried.
Ellettsville Thoroughfare Plan Update
Frank
Nierzwicki explained
the Planning Department will be working to update the Thoroughfare Plan. This work element has been considered for
quite some time and was added to the Bloomington Area MPO (Metropolitan Planning
Organization) work program last June.
Work completed on the Thoroughfare Plan is eligible for 80%
reimbursement up to $2,500. The
Thoroughfare Plan update will look at area street and road networks to see if
current designations are correct. He
will also consider new street locations and cross section for each street
classification (secondary, primary). The
idea, with the Thoroughfare Plan, is to have a set cross section for different
types of new streets. This is important
for new developments and Ellettsville’s connectivity. He will be forming a work group to include Plan Commission, developers and citizens for input on the process. The tentative plan is to have public input
during the Plan
Commission meeting in
April and then hold a public hearing at the May meeting. The Town Council will consider a final Thoroughfare Plan during the
month of May. He went over the
Ellettsville Thoroughfare Plan Update Tentative Schedule for the spring. He would like this finished before the end of
June when the funding from the MPO runs out. Frank Nierzwicki explained MPOs are urbanized areas with over 50,000
in population including adjacent neighborhoods.
Terry Baker suggested starting to plan for the I-69 impact. Frank Nierzwicki said Ellettsville needs to keep all their options open. He gave an example of North Park. There will be traffic congestion in that area. Ellettsville people should be given another
option for traveling to Indianapolis. Another example of what should
be in the Thoroughfare Plan is a connection to Sycamore Drive for the School Corporation. Frank Nierzwicki would like some Plan Commission members involved in the work group. He wants to meet with all Department
Supervisors at the same time so they will all be “on the same page”. Frank Nierzwicki pointed out, on the tentative schedule for the
Thoroughfare Plan Update, any information brought up at the Town Supervisor
meeting and work groups will be submitted as a draft to the Plan Commission in April.
Dianna Bastin would like to be a part of the Road Study Committee since
she is the Street Department Liaison.
Special Plan Commission Meeting,
Redevelopment Issues
Frank
Nierzwicki read the
memo on Redevelopment Update. The
Redevelopment Commission is considering designating a portion of the Town as a
Redevelopment Area. This designation
could happen as early as March 8, 2007 according to the Redevelopment Commission’s work
schedule. He explained once an area is
designated for redevelopment, the Plan Commission would review, under Indiana Code, the area to see if
it will fit into the concepts of the Comprehensive Plan and if the zoning is
consistent with future use. The Plan Commission has the ability to suggest revisions to the area and
also change zoning in the in the proposed area.
He has been working with his intern to collect parcels for
Redevelopment. They have 144 parcels and
will not have to contact everyone for the designation. For areas with proposed zoning change, a
notice will be given before a public hearing. If an area is rezoned, then all current uses
are “grandfathered in” as long as they conduct the same operation at the same
location. He has to get the
Redevelopment Commission to commit to the proposed Redevelopment Area and will
keep everyone up to date, via e-mail, on what is going on.
Sandra
added if there are existing residential areas in this TIF District, the taxes
they currently pay will still come to Town.
She clarified the residential homes are not going to help with the TIF
but they will be included in case of redevelopment. Frank Nierzwicki explained this will give people options if they own a
home in that area. The area will change
and improve in some ways. People will
have the benefit of living in an area being redeveloped or they can sell their
home. Their property may be of more
value. Sandra’s concern is the Town will
have to provide services to these areas without any of the money going to the
tax base to pay for these services. Frank Nierzwicki said the idea is to look at more open spaces. There was continued discussion about whom and
what will benefit from TIF District money.
The TIF District helps the tax base and will help the community attract other
types of development. Dan Swafford asked about the advantages, benefits or incentives to
a developer who wants to build in the TIF District. Frank Nierzwicki explained a TIF would help developers who are going
to develop. It would help them with the infrastructure. He is only going after projects that the Town
actually needs or requires. The area
between the one way pairs is vacant, depressed and under used. Cleaning up the
area and putting in a trail system will give a better appearance for the whole
Town. A developer would be more willing
to come into an area with an overall plan.
Sandra again asked will this TIF District take income the Town would be
receiving for essential services and diverting it for redevelopment in the
hopes that we will draw more development that will in turn benefit the
essential services. Frank Nierzwicki said Redevelopment is an overall plan; if there is no
plan there may be some uses we may not want to keep in the area. If the Town does nothing we may have semi use
areas that would not be conducive to bringing in shops, Bed and Breakfast or
those types of businesses. There was
discussion about TIF Districts, water canals and sales tax from the state.
Adjournment
Terry
Baker made a motion for the meeting to be adjourned. Dianna Bastin seconded. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned 8:21 p.m.