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Brookside Park playground delays linked to repeated stormwater permit rejections; variance still pending
Summary
Councilors were told a playground reopening at Brookside Park has been delayed after a contractor’s stormwater drainage permit application was rejected multiple times; Indy Parks said it is pursuing a variance with DPW and considering standards changes for parks.
Councilor Jesse Brown told the Parks and Recreation Committee on May 8 that Brookside Park’s playground reopening has been delayed more than 20 times and that a contractor repeatedly failed to secure the required stormwater drainage permit.
Brown said the contractor applied for the stormwater permit eight separate times and “misunderstood the requirements” each time. He asked for a status update and said the current permitting standards treat parks the same as other parcels of city land despite parks’ role as green infrastructure.
Director Phyllis Boyd told the committee the department is seeking a variance from the Department of Public Works and that the variance was “still in the works.” Boyd said changing permitting standards to account for parks’ green-infrastructure role could speed similar projects in the future.
The discussion produced no formal vote. Committee members asked staff to continue pursuing the variance and to explore whether stormwater standards could be revised so parks are not held to identical requirements as heavily developed parcels.
Ending: Councilors expressed interest in fixing the permitting pathway to prevent future delays and asked staff to keep them updated on the variance and any standards changes.
