The Zionsville Plan Commission held its final meeting of 2023 Dec. 18 at Town Hall, where it voted 5-1 to conditionally approve Phase 1 of the Wild Air project, including a primary plat to establish 174 residential lots and three blocks identified for future development on approximately 262 acres.
The project is north of Oak Street and south of C.R. 550 S., involving multiple parcels on the east and west sides of Marysville Road.
Last year, the Zionsville Town Council gave the final OK to rezone the property from a Rural R-2 classification to a planned unit development.
The next step for the project will be to get two proposed roundabouts approved for Marysville Road, to provide access to the development on the east and west sides of Marysville Road. The road improvements are currently being reviewed by the Department of Public Works.
Senior Planner Roger Kilmer stated the site currently has one single-family residence and multiple acres of farmed ground and wooded areas.
The request for the primary plat and development plan involves five different housing types within the Wild Air PUD, including ranches designed for seniors, cottages, the traditional neighborhood design consisting of single-family homes, townhomes and estate lots for single-family homes.
The west side of the plan, where estate lots are proposed, also consists of the Johnson Preserve Public Park.
Plan Commission member Larry Jones disapproved of project as presented, saying many parts of the project are not complete, including the proposed roundabouts, the access off Oak Street and site drainage,
“This project should not be in front of us because it is not complete,” Jones said. “I don’t think what we’ve been presented now is serving the best interest of the adjoining property owners or the long-term Zionsville town.”
Petitioner Justin Moffett, CEO of Old Town Companies, said he didn’t understand the potential issues.
“The reality is we have provided a stormwater management plan, and we have iterated on it for several months, and that’s why we are here tonight,” Moffett said. “It was substantially in compliance that it was recommended we move forward.”
Mike Dale, who is part of the plan commission as the non-voting secretary, said he believes the project is running its natural course. He said the next project level should be more detailed and involve construction drawings.
“I feel that if (the Department of Public Works) has said they are satisfied (with) the amount of detail they have at this stage to proceed, then we rely on them to make that call for us,” Dale said.
The next plan commission meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 18.
