Variance for housing project approved
The Mooresville Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance for a planned 180-unit apartment complex during its Thursday meeting.
Travis Vencel, of Indianapolis-based TWG Development, appeared before the board last month to present preliminary site plans and ask for a variance to reduce the minimum lot size for each unit from 3,000 square feet to 2,800 square feet. That would allow the developer to increase the number of homes from 171 to 180 and ensure the project meets the threshold to qualify for federal tax credits and bonds, he said.
The multi-family apartments would be located on an 11-acre site east of South Indiana Street and north of Moore Street that has sat vacant for decades. A housing development was approved there in 1985 but was later abandoned.
Rents would range between $720 and $1,033, and residents would be required to make anywhere from $29,800 to $50,490 to live there, he said.
At the board’s Nov. 11 meeting, board member David Saddler expressed concern that the project did not allow for enough parking as required by the town’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), and two neighbors raised concerns about the impact it would have on traffic, business, drainage and the overall community. Those neighbors were also present at Thursday’s meeting to remonstrate against the project.
At Saddler’s suggestion, Vencel withdrew his request until the next board meeting.
Vencel returned to the board Thursday with updated parking plans and answers to the residents’ questions, though they said they remain opposed to the development.
BZA chair Mike Young also said the project would still have to come before the plan commission, but Bennett argued that wouldn’t be the case because the project does not require a zoning change.
The board voted 4-1 to grant the variance. Board member Neal Allman voted against the measure.
As Vencel was leaving, Young told him he would now have to go to the plan commission for approval. Vencel responded by pointing to Bennett and saying, “Whatever that gentleman tells me to do, I’m going to do.”
The next meeting of the Mooresville Board of Zoning Appeals is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Jan. 13 at the Mooresville Government Center, 4 E. Harrison St.
~ By Peter Blanchard | Reporter | Published December 10, 2021 in The Reporter Times
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