City Council strikes down townhome development
Aug. 9—A townhome development is dead in the water, for now, after the Kokomo City Council denied its rezoning request after strong opposition from the neighboring homeowners association.
The City Council unanimously voted Monday to deny a rezoning request from office commercial to general multifamily residential for a more than 2-acre plot just east of Ladd Dental, 2333 W. Lincoln Road, which was targeted for a new townhome development.
The project's developer, Zam Development, planned to build between 25-30 two-story townhomes. Each would be approximately 1,364 square feet in size and have three bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. Prices would range from $230,000 to $255,000.
The proposed development, though, ran into fierce opposition from the Executive Place of Westbrook Homeowners Association HOA.
Leaders of the HOA, as well as its residents, have been at all public meetings for the rezoning, voicing their concerns over the proposed development. Monday's City Council meeting was no different.
HOA President Carol Croxford said her major concerns were how close the townhomes would be to the houses, the increase of traffic and the possibility of increase of crime.
"We don't want to wake up every morning or sit on our patios every evening and look at brick and mortar," Croxford said. "We like the trees. We like to see the sunset, and all of that will be gone with these townhomes."
One other major concern cited by one resident was the potential loss of privacy as the townhomes would be multistory, allowing the possibility of someone being able to peer over the HOA's fence from the second story of their townhome.
The arguments were persuasive.
Just two weeks after the City Council voted 6-3 to move the rezoning request from first reading to a second and final reading, the vote tally changed to 9-0 against it.
"I have been to this location — honestly I drive by this every day of my life — but I've gone and really looked at this, I've had several emails from people in the area and I don't believe what's being proposed is a good fit for this location," Councilman Matt Grecu, R-At-large, said.
The proposed location of the townhomes was such that there was no simple way to get access to a public road so that owners of the townhomes could get in and out.
The shortest way to get access to a public road from the 2.27 acre plot would be to build a road over the ditch and connect it to West Lincoln Road. But that was ruled out as cost prohibitive by Zam Development.
Instead, the plan was to attempt to acquire an easement to access the private roads just to the west that are used by both visitors to Ladd Dental and the adjacent doctors' offices to gain access to South Dixon Road.
The petitioner can reapply for the rezoning request after six months.
Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.
