Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
McCordsville staff propose zoning changes to comply with HB 101; council debates faster approvals and appeal routes
Summary
Planners presented amendments to the subdivision control and zoning ordinances to implement House Bill 101, including a proposed plat committee and shifting many Architectural Review Committee duties to staff; councilors and legal counsel debated appeal paths and the trade-offs between speed and public review.
McCordsville — Town planners and staff presented a pair of ordinance amendments March 10 intended to align local development review with House Bill 101’s timelines and processes, and the council discussed trade-offs between faster approvals and retaining local public review.
Planner Ryan (Ryan Crumb) told the council HB 101 is aimed at speeding approvals and making local processes more developer‑friendly. To respond, staff proposed creating a plat committee to handle primary plats and using a technical advisory committee (staff) for secondary-plat review to reduce docket pressure on the Plan Commission.
Ryan said the subdivision-control amendment is meant to speed up primary-plat approvals that state law requires be approved when they meet ordinance requirements. "Why are we having a 7 p.m. public hearing on something that we have to approve? We can get that off the Plan Commission's agenda, put it on the plat committee," he said. The timeline is an introduction at council, a Plan Commission public hearing next week and potential final action by council in April.
Staff also proposed eliminating the Architectural Review Committee and moving most ARC duties to staff so routine elevation and anti‑monotony decisions could be made administratively, with administrative decisions appealable to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Ryan and legal counsel warned the change is complex because many PUDs contain ARC language that must be revised.
Council members and legal counsel debated whether staff decisions should be appealable first to Plan Commission or council (which include elected members) before proceeding to the Board of Zoning Appeals. One councilor said he favored an intermediate review by Plan Commission because two council members sit on that body; others warned extra appeal steps would prolong approvals and undermine HB 101’s intent. Legal counsel noted the Board of Zoning Appeals has statutory authority to review administrative decisions.
Staff emphasized the proposals are introductions and that technical language and cross-PUD edits are still being worked; if staff and council want changes, they will be incorporated before Plan Commission takes action next week.
Provenance: HB 101/subdivision-control introduction SEG 1103–1111; zoning/ARC elimination discussion SEG 1269–1277 and appeal-path debate SEG 1359–1410.
