The Whiteland Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved two development-standards variances on July 9 to allow nonconforming exterior materials on separate portions of the Clark Pleasant/Whiteland school campus: polycarbonate glazing for a greenhouse and metal paneling as accent cladding on a new student activity/field-house addition and classroom areas.

The variance requests — case numbers 2025-VD-05 (129 U.S. 31, the Clark Pleasant Academy site) and 2025-VD-06 (300 Main Street, the Whiteland Community High School main campus) — were approved 4-0, with board members Juanita Emery, Derek Westfall, Byron Temple and Gary Howard recorded as voting yes. The approvals adopted the staff report as the board’s findings of fact.

Staff said the greenhouse will require polycarbonate material to function as intended, and that metal panels are already used elsewhere on the campus; in both proposals the petitioner added a brick wainscot to match existing buildings. The staff report concluded the materials would not harm public health or safety, would not increase fire or flood risk, and would not unreasonably affect adjacent property values. The town’s outside engineer, Commonwealth, and the town’s technical review had reviewed the civil plans; civil construction plans were approved on 06/24/2025.

Architect Misha Belayev of Landshare Associates said the greenhouse proposal is part of the phase 3 renovations and will be a new, larger greenhouse to support an expanding agricultural program. “This is going to be all new greenhouse,” Belayev told the BZA, adding the greenhouse portion will sit on the south side of the new addition while the north portion will be classroom, with metal panels and a brick wainscot around the base.

The greenhouse portion was described in staff materials as a roughly 3,876-square-foot footprint. Staff explained polycarbonate is required by greenhouse manufacturers and that the design keeps the greenhouse at least 20 feet from the adjacent Clark Pleasant Academy building. For the student-activity and athletic addition, Belayev said the project includes a multiuse field house with four basketball courts, a running track, a new weight room and pool renovations; metal panels are proposed at high elevations and around mechanical mezzanines to provide visual variation, with the larger wall areas to be brick or precast concrete.

During public comment David Black, a resident listed at 350 Center Street, pressed the board on stormwater and localized flooding in his neighborhood, saying runoff from earlier construction phases has increased standing water at his property and nearby yards. “I have had anywhere from 3 feet to currently 13 inches sitting in my yard,” Black said, describing surface water problems near Christina Drive.

Billy (staff member) responded that roof downspouts and drains for the additions will be tied into the high school’s storm system and that the project increases impervious surface only modestly for the roughly 4,000-square-foot greenhouse. Staff also said the school’s drainage ultimately discharges to a county legal drain managed by the Johnson County Drainage Board; the town and county had granted waivers for the three approved construction phases and the town’s outside engineer had reviewed the plans. The board’s discussion noted technical review and outside engineering approval but did not modify staff recommendations.

Board members moved to approve each petition "based on the findings of fact" and to adopt the staff report as the BZA’s findings; both motions passed on roll-call votes of 4-0. The transcript records the petitioner as Sam Arms (representing Clark Pleasant Community School Corporation), with Misha Belayev speaking for the project and Commonwealth listed as the town’s outside engineer.

The approvals allow the school to proceed within the scope of the reviewed civil plans and the materials described in the staff report. The record shows the town’s technical review and outside engineering approval, the adoption of staff findings by the board, and the public comment about local drainage that the town identified as tied to a county legal drain and subject to county drainage-board authority.

Votes at a glance

• Case 2025-VD-05 (129 U.S. 31 — greenhouse at Clark Pleasant Academy): Motion to approve petition and adopt staff report as findings of fact — Passed, 4-0 (Emery, Westfall, Temple, Howard = yes). Motion and second: not specified in transcript. Scope: greenhouse with polycarbonate glazing, metal panel classroom component, brick wainscot; footprint noted as approximately 3,876 sq. ft.; civil construction plans previously approved 06/24/2025.

• Case 2025-VD-06 (300 Main St. — student activity/field-house and additions at Whiteland Community High School): Motion to approve petition and adopt staff report as findings of fact — Passed, 4-0 (Emery, Westfall, Temple, Howard = yes). Motion and second: not specified in transcript. Scope: multiuse student activities center/field-house, weight room, pool renovations; metal paneling allowed at high elevations and entrance elements; brick and precast concrete as primary materials; civil construction plans previously approved 06/24/2025.

What happened next

The board closed the hearings after public comment and moved to the next agenda items. The transcript shows no changes to staff conditions; drainage concerns raised by residents were recorded and staff noted that the county legal drain and Johnson County Drainage Board have jurisdiction over the downstream drainage issues.