By Anna Skinner
The Westfield Advisory Plan Commission, expected to place a vote on the Wood Wind Planned Unit Development at its March 20 meeting, granted a request for a continuance instead of voting to move the development proposal onto council with a positive or negative recommendation.
Originally, the plan commission was split, with a 4-4 vote each way, and the proposal previously advanced to city council with no recommendation. The council sent the proposal back to the APC to be voted on again.
Joseph Scimia, an attorney with Ice Miller representing the Wood Wind development, asked for a continuance to April 17.
The commercial and multi-family areas of the proposal have been removed, reducing the developable acreage from 799 to 730 acres with only single-family, amenity and golf course uses.
Scimia said the reason for the continuance was an updated series of homes that Pulte Homes has not introduced to Westfield yet. According to Scimia, the request for a continuance to introduce the new series was due to new market data Pulte Homes had received regarding the series. The new series would increase the size and architecture of the units.
“One of the larger concerns we came across and that we’ve had to work through is the range of homes as far as the series and what they consist of and the price points and those sorts of things,” Scimia said. “Since our last meeting, I can tell you that I have received authority to introduce a product line to Westfield that does not exist currently in Westfield. It is brand new.”
Scimia said due to the average Westfield household earning $89,000 a year, increasing the price point to a standard requested by current citizens and some staff would not be plausible, and most families would not be able to afford those homes.
Scimia said what would be presented to staff April 7 would be the same project presented at the April 17 APC meeting. APC President Randy Graham expressed doubts.
“I’m not in a rush to get it done. I’m not weary; I’m not frustrated,” Graham said. “I am skeptical on the continuance and that if you come back here on the 17th that would be it, and we wouldn’t be maneuvering things around five minutes before the meeting. I just feel a lot of people have invested a lot of time. I am not trying to rush the process at all. If you have a better product, you have a good argument that we should see what it is, but I’m skeptical you’re going to bring something here on April 17 that is a finished product.”
Scimia responded that he was unsure if Graham’s comments were due to skepticism or cynicism but that he is “fully aware of the frustrations they share.”
Graham was the only APC member who voted against the continuance. The continuance was granted for the Wood Wind proposal with an 8-1 vote.
For more, visit westfield.in.gov.
