Planning Commission conditionally approves Solstice Apartments development plan with required emergency-access work

The Whitestown Planning Commission granted conditional approval to the Solstice Apartments development plan (Docket PC-24-053) for a 288-unit, 12-building market-rate apartment complex on about 20.7 acres, subject to a condition requiring the developer to work with town planning and the fire marshal to create an improved secondary emergency access.

Developer representatives told commissioners the mixed-use–core–zoned site would include 12 multifamily buildings totaling 288 units, a clubhouse with a pool and amenity spaces, two detention ponds and about 1.7 parking spaces per unit (roughly 490 spaces). The site plan shows the only primary vehicle access from Indianapolis Road; density is roughly 13.9 units per acre (under the 15 units/acre cap for the zoning district).

Planning staff and the petitioner said the project complies with UDO standards; staff recommended approval. During the public hearing a resident raised concerns about added traffic on Indianapolis Road, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and congestion when interstate incidents cause backups.

Several commissioners and public-safety commenters focused on emergency access. Commissioners noted the project’s narrow frontage and that a single fire apparatus or blocked entrance could prevent resident egress. The petitioner said they had worked with the fire marshal and that the plan includes a northbound right-turn lane and a divided boulevard entry; they also described a gravel service drive and an unimproved gravel access near the cemetery that town maintenance vehicles sometimes use. The petitioner said they were willing to work with the fire marshal to create a traversable emergency gap through a landscaped berm or an improved emergency lane connecting to an existing drive if required.

A commissioner’s motion to approve the development plan included an explicit condition requiring the developer to continue working with Whitestown planning staff and the fire marshal to provide a secondary emergency access acceptable to the town; the motion also specified the access should be improved to carry emergency apparatus. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously by voice vote.

Technical drainage review comments were still under review with the county surveyor at the time of the meeting; the developer said they planned to resubmit revised drainage documents to staff by the end of the week. The approvals allow the project to move forward into final engineering and permitting once the outstanding technical and emergency-access details are resolved.