Avon plan commission continues rezoning request for 76-unit Beechwood Townhomes after drainage, traffic and density concerns

The Town of Avon Advisory Plan Commission on Tuesday agreed to continue consideration of ZA-25-02, a petition to rezone about 10.6 acres on the 7600 block of Beachwood Center Road from C-3 (general commercial) to R-4 (multifamily) to allow a 76-unit townhome development.

The continuation followed nearly two hours of staff presentation, testimony from the petitioner and more than a dozen residents who said the proposal would generate unacceptable traffic, reduce buffering between retail and single-family neighborhoods and could worsen a longstanding drainage problem.

Linda, a town staff member, summarized the petition and staff recommendation and told commissioners, “Staff is recommending that you forward a favorable recommendation to the town council with the 3 commitments listed below,” noting the petitioner should state whether it would accept those commitments. She described the site as an undeveloped parcel that has been zoned C-3 since at least 2009 and reviewed development details including a private alley, two hammerhead turnarounds and three waivers the developer would need if the project advances.

Petitioner representatives said the homes would be for sale and showed preliminary elevations. Steve Briopley of Fanning Engineering presented the plan and David Ellis, land acquisition manager for David Weekley Homes, said the builder anticipates pricing “starting at 350000 dollars,” adding the units would be owner-occupied at first and that the developer intends to study detention and traffic at the primary-plat stage.

Residents and the neighborhood homeowners association strongly opposed the rezone at this stage. Nick Stefani, president of the Groves of Beechwood Farms homeowners association, told the commission, “We'd like to express our strong objection to the rezoning,” and cited the comprehensive plan’s original “Innovation” designation for the parcel and concerns that rezoning would undercut longer-range economic development goals.

Other speakers described existing congestion around the nearby retail area, the proximity of a daycare and recurring on-street parking issues. Tony Baer said, “we don't wanna become Carmel or Fishers,” expressing a widely held view among several speakers that higher-density residential development would change neighborhood character.

Commission discussion focused on three recurring items: (1) ownership and condition of a nearby detention pond that has been cited in prior basement-flooding complaints and is presently deeded to an absentee developer; (2) whether the proposed single-access design with an emergency/secondary connection satisfies safety and traffic standards (the petitioner said the emergency access could be made a permanent ingress/egress); and (3) whether commitments should accompany any favorable recommendation to limit certain permitted uses.

Clarifying details presented to the commission included: the parcel is about 10.6 acres; the site plan proposes 76 townhome lots with a 25-foot setback from the adjacent neighborhood; the developer would seek three waivers at plat stage (using a private alley as a second access to exceed the 49-units-per-single-access threshold, two hammerhead turnarounds in lieu of cul-de-sacs, and a public-street right-of-way reduction from 60 to 50 feet); and the detention pond currently is recorded in the county tax records under Trinity/Beazer Homes and has not been maintained to the town’s satisfaction.

Members repeatedly noted that a rezoning is legislative and runs with the land; as Commissioner Paul Guchenberger observed, if the commission and town council approve a rezoning, “those things stay in place forever unless altered in the future by the town council.” Commissioners asked the petitioner to return with clearer commitments the commission might include in any recommendation (examples discussed: limiting hospital, cemetery, mass-transit and certain heavy-utility uses, and providing a traffic study and a maintenance plan for the detention pond).

On a motion to continue the petition to the commission’s May 27 meeting, the commission recorded a unanimous vote of the six members present (Commissioners Greg Zuzin, Paul Guchenberger, Catherine Ransberg, Dave Kaufman, Bill Reed and Andrew Rochabrand). The motion was seconded and carried; the petition was continued so the petitioner can provide follow-up information, and staff and commissioners can draft potential rezone commitments.

The commission also heard brief procedural items (approval of minutes and routine approvals) and a broader question about municipal authority to restrict rentals; town legal staff advised the commission that current state statute and case law limit local governments’ ability to regulate rentals by ordinance and that HOAs are the typical enforcement mechanism.

The record shows the commission will expect the petitioner to address detention-pond ownership and maintenance, produce or scope a traffic study, and indicate which of the staff-proposed commitments the petitioner will accept when the petition returns on May 27.

The public hearing portion of ZA-25-02 will reopen when the petition returns; the continuation does not indicate approval or denial of the rezoning request.