Area Plan Commission approves rezoning at former Tarrytown baseball site; neighbors urge park fronting Boston Avenue

The Vigo County Area Plan Commission on a voice vote approved rezoning for 1801 Boston Avenue, the former Tarrytown baseball complex, to an R‑1 single‑family residence district to allow a proposed single‑family subdivision by Southern Homes LLC.

Staff and the city engineering office offered a positive recommendation, saying the change would not "directly alter the neighborhood's characteristic" or create significant problems. Richard Shaglin, attorney for Southern Homes LLC, told the commission the property was purchased at a sheriff's sale and the owner proposes roughly an 84‑lot subdivision with a future park on four lots.

Local residents urged the commission to reconsider the park placement. "I recommend the placement to be fronting Boston Avenue," said Deborah Schroeder, who lives in Tarrytown and reviewed the plat, arguing fronting the park on Boston Avenue would improve aesthetics, increase sight lines for traffic and create a safer walking route to Tarrytown Elementary School. Katie Earl, another Tarrytown resident, said many neighbors were upset at the loss of green space and favored a park on Boston Avenue as a nod to the site's prior use as ballfields.

Shaglin said the developer plans sidewalks and that engineering had reviewed the preliminary materials without raising objections. Commissioners emphasized that a subdivision plat and infrastructure details will return for separate review and approval at a later hearing.

The commission voted to approve the rezoning recommendation. The commission's approval advances the zoning change to the next procedural steps; a formal plat and subdivision review will be required before construction and infrastructure work proceed.