The Greenwood Board of Zoning Appeals on Aug. 25 approved multiple variances for Greenwood Place, a proposed age‑restricted housing development at lots along West County Line Road and State Road 135, allowing a clubhouse setback and reduced masonry and transparency standards with conditions.

The board voted 5‑0 to approve a request to increase the maximum front yard setback for the clubhouse from 80 feet to 229 feet so the building can be placed farther from County Line Road to accommodate on‑site stormwater detention and drainage. The board also approved multiple masonry and reduced‑glass variances for several residential building types, and allowed one trash enclosure to be located in what the ordinance describes as a front yard, with conditions limiting it to a single dumpster and requiring the location shown on the submitted exhibit.

City planning staff recommended approval of five of the seven variances and recommended two transparency variances be denied; petitioners and staff negotiated changes during the hearing. The petitioner agreed to increase transparency percentages on some elevations (including raising certain elevations to 9 percent) and to ensure the clubhouse west elevation meets the standard transparency. Staff asked that final construction plans “substantially conform” to the elevations submitted to the board and that garage doors include architectural design with some transparency; the board made both conditions of approval on the applicable variances.

Developers, their architect and planning staff described site constraints that led to the requests. Crossroads Engineers’ representative said the clubhouse was set back to allow required detention in the northwest corner of the property where drainage flows into an existing roadside ditch. Architect Tom Montgomery told the board residential floor plans (bedrooms, en‑suite bathrooms and closet locations) limit where windows can be placed, which drove some of the low transparency percentages on side elevations; he agreed to add more windows to increase transparency on specific elevations.

Staff also raised concerns about corner lots and the visibility of building facades facing the public road. Planning staff suggested the developer could “flip” building orientations in some locations so façades with higher transparency face County Line Road, but the development team said constraints—easements, utilities and lot depth—prevented that layout change.

The board acted on each variance individually and adopted the staff report into the record before voting. Motions and votes included:
- Increase maximum front yard setback for clubhouse from 80 to 229 feet: motion by Mr. King, second by Ms. Peters; approved 5‑0 with no conditions.
- Reduce mortared masonry from 50% to 17% (building set): motion by Mr. King, second by Ms. Peters; approved 5‑0 with two staff conditions (architectural garage doors with transparency; final plans substantially conform to Exhibit E).
- Reduce mortared masonry from 50% to 26%: motion by Mr. King, second by Mr. Noborn; approved 5‑0 with the condition that final plans substantially conform to Exhibit E.
- Reduce mortared masonry from 50% to 28%: motion by Mr. King, second by Mr. Moll; approved 5‑0 with the same final‑plan condition.
- Reduce front elevation transparency from 30% to 9% (board‑approved modification from the requested 2%): motion by Mr. King, second by Ms. Peters; approved 5‑0.
- Reduce side elevation transparency from 20% to 6% for building elevations (clubhouse excluded from this request): motion by Mr. King, second by Ms. Peters; approved 5‑0 with the clubhouse excluded.
- Allow trash enclosure in a front yard, limited to one dumpster and located as shown on Exhibit C: motion by Mr. King, second by Mr. Moll; approved 5‑0 with that condition.

The board also directed the corporation counsel’s office to draft final findings of fact and conclusions consistent with the staff report and the board’s decisions.

Background and site details provided at the hearing show the petition covers several parcels identified in the application at the southwest corner of County Line Road and State Road 135, adjacent to Lincoln Park PUD (Johnson County) to the west and Meadow subdivisions to the south. The proposal includes multiple residential building types (fourplexes, eightplexes) and a clubhouse; the petitioner said the product is an age‑restricted, independent living configuration requiring garage locations and internal layouts that affected façade transparency.

Next steps are the submission of final construction documents that must substantially conform to the elevations the board approved and to the conditions set in the motions; the corporation counsel will prepare the written decision for adoption in the board’s next minutes.