A developer has cut back the number of homes and added more brick to homes in a proposed Bargersville neighborhood that was turned down last year.
The new neighborhood, Highland Knoll, would add 90 homes on a 31-acre property near County Road 300N and County Road 450W on the west side of the town.
Last fall, a proposed neighborhood on that property was rejected by the Bargersville Town Council, after council members raised concerns about the density and quality of the homes. The developer, Indianapolis-based Westport Homes, has now proposed a second project at the site that would reduce the number of homes and increase the amount of brick on the houses.
If approved, the neighborhood would join several others under construction in the town, including Saddle Club North, Aberdeen and Morningside neighborhoods, while planning is still underway for the Saddle Club South subdivision. Those neighborhoods, which could be built out within the next decade, would add nearly 1,000 homes to the town.
The past proposal included a total of 99 homes on the property. Now, with 90 homes, the new neighborhood will have about 2.9 homes per acre, compared to Morris Meadows, located directly to the east, which has about 3.2 homes per acre.
Developers also included in the new plans using less vinyl siding, and more brick. The original proposal Westport Homes had made for the site last year called for only the homes on the outer edges of the neighborhood to have any brick or stone, Bargersville Planning Director Julie Young said.
That change falls in line with new home construction rules the town approved last month intended to reduce the amount of vinyl siding and increase the amount of brick or stone that builders use. The goal is to raise the quality and appearance of new neighborhoods, and also increase the amount of property taxes coming from those projects.
Westport Homes wasn’t required to follow the new rules, because they submitted their plans for the neighborhood prior to the new rules being approved, but has agreed to meet the new standards, Young said.
That means the entire first story of each of the homes in the new neighborhood will be made up of brick, stone or other masonry materials, as opposed to other siding such as vinyl or cement fiber boards, she said.
The town council will need to approve rezoning the property from agricultural to residential before the project can begin. The town council postponed a decision at its meeting earlier this month and will consider the rezoning again on March 27, council member Ken Zumstein said.
