Area Plan Commission approves rezoning for 264-unit multifamily on North Burkhart Road

The Area Plan Commission of Evansville and Vanderburgh County voted to rezone 3200 North Burkhart Road from R-1 to R-5 with an attached Use and Development Commitment (UDC) to allow a 264-unit multifamily development, approving the petition with seven votes in favor and one abstention.

The vote matters because the rezoning changes what the site may be used for, moves a proposed affordable multifamily project forward and sets specific development conditions — including height limits, screening and a required traffic study — that the commission will expect at later site review. The project team told the commission the development would pursue state tax-credit funding and local incentives to deliver workforce housing.

Mike Schottmeyer, an attorney with the law firm of Conde, Zahn & Kahn representing the developer, told the commission the applicant had revised the UDC after neighborhood meetings. "We've made lots of changes, to deal with the construction times, to deal with the height restrictions…we put a 50 foot limit," Schottmeyer said. He described screening and a fence to address neighbors' concerns about headlights and said the developer would…