Meetings to determine whether Walmart would be opening in Zionsville were scheduled for the Board of Zoning Appeals and Plan Commission in January, but Walmart asked for a continuance until February because INDOT requested to move the proposed store’s Michigan Road entrance, which meant changes to the existing site plan needed adjustment. Requests were filed and continuances were granted.
Now there’s a new issue that has emerged, and it revolves around the size and the designation of the proposed building which is slated to be 156,621 square feet. At that size, it exceeded the town’s zoning limit of 125,000 square feet which resulted in Walmart’s first variance request and now, before the February meetings, Walmart will likely be filing for a second variance.
“The petitioner has indicated to our department that it intends to amend the variance filing to specify that relief from the 60,000-square-foot requirement will be sought in addition to relief from the 125,000-square-foot requirement.” Wayne DeLong, director of planning and economic development for the Town of Zionsville, said.
This request relates to a limitation set in the Town of Zionsville Zoning Ordinance re-adopted in January 2010, which states, “No Single use, whether free-standing or contained in an Integrated Center, shall exceed sixty thousand (60,000) square feet of Gross Floor Area. No Integrated Center shall exceed one hundred twenty-five thousand (125,000) square feet of total Gross Floor area.”
Some residents are concerned about the proposed building.
“I strongly believe in development, but to permit this variance will set a very bad precedent for this parcel of land or any others in the Town of Zionsville,” Zionsville Resident Lynne Ballegeer said.
Is the proposed Walmart an integrated center, single use, or free-standing? The question will continue at the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting on Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. followed by the Plan Commission meeting on Feb. 19 at 7:00 p.m.