By Ann Marie Shambaugh
The fate of a proposed senior living campus remains undecided as the Zionsville Plan Commission delayed a vote on rezoning more than 25 acres of land for the development until its February meeting.
Residents from The Enclave and Russell Lake neighborhoods packed Town Hall on Jan. 20 to voice opposition to the project, which they believe will create traffic problems, noise and other issues. The proposed site on the north side of W. Oak Street near Cooper Street is currently zoned as Rural Single Family Residential Zoning District, but developers are asking that it be rezoned to a Planned Unit Development.
Most residents said they are not against CarDon Development Company or its proposed campus in general, but they believe it would be better suited in a different location.
“For many residents and people in the community, the largest investment they make in their lives is their home,” said Kyle Morris, who spoke on behalf of his neighbors in the Russell Lake neighborhood. “We see no positive outcome with this property in this location.”
The developers, however, said that they considered multiple sites in Zionsville and that the proposed location is a good fit for the project for many reasons, such as allowing aging residents to live near family members.
“This location is intentionally chosen to be located near other residential uses. We don’t think that is out of character,” said Matt Price, an attorney who spoke on behalf of the developers. “We think it could be made to be compatible and fit within Zionsville’s high expectations for such a project.”
The proposed facility is planned to contain several elements that include assisted living, skilled nursing, individual apartments and cottages. Price said that CarDon’s revised proposal lowered the number of residential units from 330 to 275, reduced the presence of three-story buildings and included other changes based on discussions with nearby residents and town staff. An attorney representing those in opposition said he had not seen the updated proposal before the meeting.
Plan commissioners asked developers to present an economic impact study and address several other issues before the Feb. 20 meeting.
