Sellersburg council adopts rezoning for small, ADA-accessible homes with deed restriction and buffer

The Town of Sellersburg Town Council on April 28 adopted an ordinance rezoning a parcel identified in the record as partial 10-17-08-900-177-031 from R-1 (low-density residential) to R-2 (medium-density residential) with added conditions, council members said.

The rezoning was approved after developers described plans for a small subdivision of single-family, ADA-accessible homes they said would be marketed to veterans, retirees and people with disabilities. The council added a 10-foot buffer along the R-1 edges and accepted a proposed deed restriction that would prevent conversion to duplexes or other non-single-family uses.

The rezoning matter followed a favorable recommendation from the Planning Commission and was moved, seconded and approved during the meeting. Council members also waived a second reading before adopting the ordinance.

Developer Robert Lynn, president of Robert Lynn Company Inc., told the council the project would include compact, roomy lots and houses designed to be ADA accessible. “I really felt like I had to try to do something to give back,” Lynn said, and added that he expects the homes to be built quickly if approved: “We'll come to you, the planning commission, as soon as if we get okay tonight, within probably a month's time... it'll only be about a 3 and a 3, 3 and a half to 4 month max build out.”

Lynn said the plan includes paired driveway entrances shared between two lots so residents can pull forward when leaving and that one of the homes would be donated, at no cost, to a qualifying veteran or disabled retiree.

Council and staff clarified the conditions before voting. A staff member identified the buffer-yard standard that will apply: a 10-foot buffer requiring, per the Unified Development Ordinance, one canopy tree, two understory trees, one evergreen and three shrubs per 100 feet of buffer. The developer agreed to record a deed restriction to keep the units as single-family dwellings, saying that would prevent a future owner or insurer from converting a house into a duplex or otherwise using the property for anything other than single-family residential.

The ordinance text cited the April 2025 Planning Commission recommendation and referenced Indiana Code 36-7-4-608 as the statutory authority for council action on certified rezoning recommendations. The council identified the adopted ordinance as number 2025R0110 and noted the added 10-foot buffer and the deed restriction in the motion.

Next steps, as stated in the meeting, are recording the plat and deed restrictions and returning to the Planning Commission for typical plat and permitting review. The developer said construction would start after those approvals and estimated a multi-house build-out of roughly three to four months, weather permitting.

The council record shows the motion carried; the transcript records multiple “aye” votes and the mayor/presiding officer announcing the motion approved. The ordinance becomes effective on passage as recorded by the signatures of the majority of council members.

Although council discussion referenced resident concerns raised at the Planning Commission meeting, the council noted required buffering and deed restrictions as the remedies to address those concerns.

(For context: the rezoning was listed on the agenda as Order No. 2025-ORD-010 with later adoption recorded as Ordinance No. 2025R0110.)