Michigan City planners recommend rezoning, approve primary plat for Tryon Meadows subdivision

Michigan City Plan Commission members on Tuesday voted to recommend rezoning and approved a primary subdivision plat for a planned housing development on the south side of Tryon Road between Breezy Lane and Mayfield Drive.

Developer John Kopchak, identifying himself as a managing member of the Sloan Avenue Group–Redstone Group joint venture, told the commission the Tryon Meadows proposal covers about 39 acres and would be a mixed residential community including 34 single-family lots, 14 four-unit townhome buildings (56 townhome units) and eight apartment buildings. Kopchak said the apartments are planned as 16-unit buildings. "We anticipate that at least 75% of all of our available units will cater to households at an 80 to 120% AMI range," he said.

The commission held a public hearing and heard one written remonstrance from a nearby neighbor, Brian Spieth of Mayfield Drive, who said he opposed the addition of apartments and townhomes in the area and raised traffic and safety concerns on Tryon Road. Skyler York, planning staff, said the city had the petition materials and traffic data on file; York said an initial traffic analysis provided for the project estimated the development would generate less than 3,000 additional average daily trips (ADT), and that a collector road such as Tryon is designed to accommodate between roughly 3,000 and 11,000 ADT. "There's plenty of capacity on Tryon Road at this point," York said.

York told the commission the proposed rezoning is consistent with the city's comprehensive plan, which identifies the parcel in the suburban general residential land use category and lists townhomes and similar attached housing as appropriate. "This piece of land is actually identified for exactly what he's proposing in our comprehensive plan," York said. City engineering and the fire department reported no objections, and the city engineer, Al Wallace, provided a stormwater/drainage approval for the preliminary drainage plan on the record.

Attorney Hale advised the commission that its role is to forward a recommendation to the Common Council; the council, not the commission, enacts rezoning ordinances. "We do not approve rezoning," Hale said. "We can approve this petition, but our job is to send the petition... to the common council, and they actually enact an ordinance that approves the rezone." The commission voted unanimously to forward the rezoning petition (PDash100Dash25) to the Common Council with a favorable recommendation and to adopt the staff findings.

After the rezoning vote, the commission considered the associated primary plat for a major subdivision (petition 901-25 Sub 1). Planning staff recommended approval of the primary plat subject to the rezoning being approved by the Common Council. Staff noted the subdivision plan calls for new city streets and utilities, three construction phases, and proposed open space in the form of two roughly half-acre pocket parks; staff and the developer agreed that the dedicated open-space acreage could meet the ordinance requirement without a waiver. Kopchak said single-family lots would generally be about 55 to 70 feet wide and approximately 125 feet deep, and townhomes would average about 1,800 square feet per unit.

Public commenters and nearby residents generally expressed support for the project and asked the commission to plan for transit and future roadway capacity; some urged the developer to use local labor. Tommy Kolovic asked whether hiring preferences tied to a potential housing TIF would apply; York responded that the developer's bond sale and TIF arrangements are separate and that standard licensed-contractor and building-permit rules will apply.

The commission approved the primary plat by unanimous roll-call vote. The developer and staff said construction of infrastructure would follow state and local permitting procedures and that a secondary plat and other approvals would return to the commission later in the process.

Votes at a glance: The Plan Commission voted unanimously in favor of forwarding the rezoning petition (PDash100Dash25) to the Common Council with a favorable recommendation and approved the primary plat (petition 901-25 Sub 1) for the Tryon Meadows subdivision; both votes were recorded by roll call and carried without negative or abstaining votes.

What happens next: The rezoning recommendation goes to the Michigan City Common Council for final action. If the council approves the rezoning ordinance, the developer may begin infrastructure work per approved permits and later return to the commission for secondary plat approval and final engineering signoffs. Stormwater, drainage, utility and construction inspections must be completed and accepted by the city and sanitary authority as part of later approvals.

Quotes used in this article are taken from the March 25, 2025 Michigan City Plan Commission meeting transcript.