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Avon planning commission backs rezoning and modified commitments for Whispering Pines South
Summary
The Avon Advisory Plan Commission forwarded favorable recommendations to town council to rezone 32.16 acres at Whispering Pines South from R‑1 to R‑2 and to modify written commitments, subject to petitioner commitments limiting uses to single‑family detached dwellings and other conditions.
The Avon Advisory Plan Commission on March 24 voted to forward favorable recommendations to town council to rezone 32.16 acres known as Whispering Pines South from R‑1 to R‑2 and to approve modifications to the development’s written commitments, planning staff and the petitioner said.
The proposal would allow 64 single‑family lots on about 32 acres at 1520 South County Road 625 East and relax several original commitments from a 2003 rezoning that set larger minimum lot widths and lot sizes. Petitioner Pulte Homes withdrew an earlier request to increase the number of lots to 71 and agreed to increased minimum home sizes, additional tree preservation, two retention ponds and a single‑family‑only permitted‑use commitment, the developer said.
Paul (town planning staff) told the commission the site’s comprehensive‑plan cluster map does not provide a specific recommendation and staff initially recommended an unfavorable recommendation in January. After the petitioner revised the plan — notably withdrawing the 71‑lot layout and adding perimeter lot size and setback changes, he said — staff recommended forwarding a favorable recommendation to town council. “We are now recommending the forwarding of favorable recommendations for both ZA2411 and WC2401,” Paul said at the hearing.
David Compton, vice president of land acquisition for Pulte Homes of Indiana, told the commission the company had negotiated changes to preserve trees and to share amenities with existing Whispering Pines residents. Compton said Pulte will contribute an initial $300,000 to the Whispering Pines homeowners association and an agreed per‑lot contribution toward upkeep and potential improvements to the amenity area.
Residents who spoke at the public hearing offered mixed views. Chad Furman, president of the Whispering Pines Homeowners Association, voiced support and said the developer had engaged with the neighborhood. Several Timber Bend residents and other neighbors, including Kurt Vaper (a nearby property owner) and Libby Whipple (Timber Bend), urged the commission to preserve the stricter 2003 commitments to protect lot size, neighborhood character and traffic safety. Concerns raised included traffic on County Road 625 East, the reduced lot widths versus existing Timber Bend lots, and the long‑term effect on property values.
After discussion, commissioners added a condition to the favorable recommendation restricting future permitted uses on the rezoned parcels to single‑family detached dwellings only and sent both the rezoning (ZA2411) and the written‑commitments modification (WC2401) forward to town council. The commission’s votes were recorded as passing the motions to forward favorable recommendations.
Next steps: the town council will consider the commission’s recommendations at a later public hearing; the commission only forwarded recommendations tonight.
