So many people filed into the Greenwood City Council meeting this week, motivated by a zoning issue, that the fire marshal had to ask about 50 to step into another room.
Several stood in the council chambers equipped for about 100 people. Most waved signs. Some read: "REZONE" with Opus Development Company, LLC and Vineyard Community Church’s logos at the bottom. Others read: "Keep Greenwood GREEN. Stop the rezoning for warehouses."
Vineyard Community Church needs to sell its property southeast of Interstate 65 and Worthsville Road so it can continue to operate its church on South Main Street downtown. To make it marketable, the church and a developer were asking that the city rezone the land.
Several dozen residents opposed rezoning the land to industrial so a developer could build three, large speculative buildings directly east of 65.
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After about 45 minutes of discussion, the city council voted no to rezoning the land to industrial, which would have gone against its 20-year comprehensive plan. The council voted 7-2 against the rezoning. Council members Ezra Hill and Mike Campbell voted yes. The city’s plan commission had sent an unfavorable recommendation for the project to the city council.
Opus Development Company, LLC, a Minneapolis-based developer with a regional office in Indianapolis, presented its proposal for three large speculative buildings on the southwest corner of Worthsville Road and County Road 250 East, just east of the Interstate 65 interchange. The plan called for rezoning 52 acres, currently zoned for suburban fringe, to industrial, something area property owners have continuously begged the city not to do, saying they do not want anything industrial south of Worthsville Road, where farmland and higher-end homes are located.
Their arguments remain that plenty of empty warehouse space and vacant land is available north of Worthsville Road; nearby warehouses would affect their property values; this type of development is not what the city’s comprehensive plan calls for in this area; and increased traffic on narrow, country roads would be dangerous.
The land in question, which is currently owned by Vineyard Community Church, has been on the market since 2015.
Opus wanted to build two smaller buildings of 50,000 to 75,000 square-feet at the front of the new development, facing I-65, and one much larger building of about 350,000 square feet behind that.
All of the buildings would have been built with the flexibility to attract a variety of tenants, from small, local distribution companies and medical sales operations, to regional offices for large, national or international businesses, Opus representatives said.
The development’s investment in Greenwood would have been $9 million to $18 million without any tax abatement, which they have not asked for, they said, and $4.3 million to $12.6 million with abatement, they said.
The church has been trying to sell the property since 2015, but Jacque Haynes with Midland Atlantic Properties said she has not been able to attract other types of development to that space.
Retailers aren’t interested. In fact, she hasn’t received any calls about the property except from trucking companies wanting to park semis there, she said.
Haynes argued that the project would not have harmed future growth because it would have brought more jobs and people to the area.
Opus representatives pointed to Noblesville, Fishers and Brownsburg as examples of growth continuing, even with industrial development along major highways.
Matthew Smith, who serves on the plan commission, board of zoning appeals and overlay committee, spoke out against the rezoning during the council meeting, noting that he was speaking for himself as a Greenwood resident, not as a member of any city board.
"I understand that the Vineyard Community Church is motivated to sell, and that no commercial or residential developers have, as of yet, as was stated, asked to develop this plot of land. I also understand that holding this land is a financial hardship for the church, and I have empathy for that," Smith said.
"However, when given this choice on the Advisory Plan Commission and looking over our statutory criteria, there was one criteria I can honestly say the Opus development did not meet — that it would not injure the property values around it."
Smith argued it would, significantly.
Randy Goodin, who leads the charge for responsible development on the southeast side of the city, met with Opus and Vineyard before the meeting.
"Vineyard, please understand we’re not against you rezoning. We’re against industrial rezoning," Goodin said.
"Vineyard, if you are defeated tonight, please understand we will help you in any way that we can … We mean you no harm. I consider you a brother and sister in Christ."
Vineyard purchased the property 16 years ago with hopes of one day building a mega campus on it, said Jim Bricker, Vineyard’s senior pastor.
They used that property as collateral to buy the church’s current home at 512 S. Madison Avenue, in the heart of the city, for about $2 million. Since then, they’ve added about $2.5 million in renovations, he said, which has brought the church’s debt to $4.5 million.
The church has experienced a lot of growth over the years, Bricker said. Currently, it serves about 2,000 people, 700 of whom live in the Greenwood area. But much of its congregation does not have the financial means to contribute monetarily.
"The fact is we do own the property, and we need to sell the property. We have a purchase agreement to sell the property. And this will make a huge difference in the way we’re going to be able to serve the community," Bricker said.
The church wants to sell the property so it can retire its debt load, make more necessary improvements to its current facility and add staff, he said.
"I would ask each of you council members to take into consideration, not the fact that this is an election year, or the fears that have been voiced by so many different people, but to take into consideration the 50,000 Greenwood residents who will benefit from this project," Bricker said during the meeting.
"We’re committed to the community, and it is our desire to stay where we are."
Council member Ezra Hill, who represents District 2 where the church properties are located, voted yes to the rezoning because Opus presented a quality design that will bring more jobs to the area, he said.
"This has been a tough decision for me," Hill said, noting the feedback he has received from the public.
"No, this does not mean that I’m supporting industrial development further east and south of Worthsville Road. I’ve heard that message loud and clear, and if at all possible, want to stick with the recommendation of the comprehensive plan," he said.
Council member Drew Foster went door to door this weekend in the Lennar at South Lake subdivision located near the property, and said nearly everyone he spoke to is against the development.
