Commissioners approve R3 rezoning for Flutter Road apartment project after traffic and drainage concerns

The Allen County Board of Commissioners approved a rezoning to allow a proposed multi-family apartment complex on 37.21 acres along Flutter Road in St. Joseph Township, after planning staff summarized development plans and commissioners raised questions about traffic and drainage.

David Schaub of the Department of Planning Services presented the proposal (REZ 20240042) and said the plan calls for up to 13 apartment buildings in a phased development, with approximately 280 units in one phase and 144 in another. The project site contains a drain that runs through the property; staff described that drain as an agricultural drain constructed in the late 1800s and said portions are open and portions are tile. Schaub said the southern wooded portion of the site would remain undeveloped and that required stormwater management and a traffic study would be part of the review process.

Schaub said the primary development plan received a favorable recommendation from the plan commission by a 7-to-1 vote (councilman Logan voted no). He told commissioners that a traffic study could require additional lane work on Flutter Road and that a sidewalk crossing would be required over an existing bridge. Schaub explained that the rezoning itself is a land-use decision that remains in place whether the project proceeds; the site plan and construction documents are reviewed separately and typically come back for more detailed engineering review.

Commissioners questioned whether the parcel was the best location for an R3 district because of the nearby convergence of multiple two-lane roads and the potential for cut-through traffic and queuing near the interchange and intersection points. Staff responded that the traffic study and coordination with the highway department and surveyor would identify needed access changes, potential lane additions and other mitigation; no guarantees were made at the rezoning stage because the traffic study was still pending.

Commission action: the board voted to approve REZ 20240042, rezoning the property from A1 agricultural and R1 single-family residential to R3 multi-family residential to permit the apartment complex. The planning commission's primary development plan had conditional approval contingent on the rezoning; staff said that if the rezoning did not lead to construction within two years the plan would expire and the plan commission would have to review new proposals.

Ending: Commissioners asked staff and the developer to continue coordination on traffic and stormwater details during secondary review and engineering phases.