Neighbors remain divided after Vanderburgh County Commissioners conditionally approved a request to rezone a parcel of land off Browning Road in McCutchanville. The approval will be final once a list of land-use restrictions is signed and notarized.
Luann Sievern will have a front seat to the new construction. "If you look out our back window," she said, "we are the house overlooking the currently empty field which will be the development."
But that’s okay with her. She said someone will develop that lot, and she prefers the current proposal to others that have floated around.
Her neighbor Vickie Detroy said the developers, B & L Properties, LLC, have done a good job of communicating with neighbors and addressing their concerns. “Most of us were very opposed in the very beginning and we’ve come full circle,” she said.
Many of the residents were worried about their home prices. Developers had asked to build nine, two-unit townhouses in an area of single-family homes.
That type of development required rezoning the property. The lot is currently zoned for agricultural use, which means the developers could build single-family homes without rezoning. They have to rezone the land to be a planned-unit development, or PUD, to build the townhouses.
Commissioners tabled the request at their June 19 meeting last month so developers could meet with neighbors and discuss some restrictions. They met with a small group of neighbors Monday night and presented a list covenants and restrictions. Among them are limitations to the types of building materials, like no vinyl siding, to try to keep sale prices high.
Two neighbors spoke against the proposal at the meeting. They did not want any townhouses regardless of price.
