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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJPC February 24, 2026 MINUTES OF THE JEFFERSONVILLE PLAN COMMISSION February 24, 2026 Call to Order Board Vice President Duard Avery calls to order the Plan Commission meeting. It is Tuesday, February 24, 2026, it is 5:30 pm in the City Council Chambers, Jeffersonville City Hall, 500 Quartermaster Ct., Jeffersonville, Indiana. The meeting was held in person and streamed live on the City's website and City's Facebook page. Roll Call Board members Duard Avery, Chris Bottorff, Donna Reed, and Steve Webb were present in the City Council Chambers. Members Mike McCutcheon, David Schmidt, and Bill Burns were absent. Also present were Planning & Zoning Attorney Les Merkley, Planning and Zoning Director Chad Reischl, Secretary Shane Shaughnessy, and Planner Shelby Walsh. (Secretary's Note: All plat maps, public letters, photos, etc. presented before the Plan Commission on this date can be found in the office of Planning & Zoning.) Approval of Minutes Approval of the minutes from January 27, 2026. Ms. Reed made a motion to approve the January 27, 2026 minutes, seconded by Mr. Bottorff. Roll Call vote. Motion passed 4-0. Approval of the Docket Motion to approve the agenda made by Ms. Reed, seconded by Mr. Webb. Roll call vote. Motion passed 4-0. Old Business None New Business PC-26-03 Primary Plat Nicholas Hunter filed a Primary Plat application for the 8.1 acre property at the corner of Woodland Court and Cardinal Lane. The application is for a 43-lot single family subdivision. The current zoning is R3 (Single Family Residential—Small Scale). The Docket Number is PC-26-03. Mr. Hunter said he was with his business partner, Tim Lewers, Jon McCoy, their engineer, and John Kraft, their attorney. He said that the property was rezoned in 2024 from M2 to R3. They are requesting plat approval for a 43 lot single family subdivision which will consist of 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom homes with attached garages with prices around $300,000. Phase 1 is an extension of Blue Teal Lane that will contain 11 homes and Phase 2 will access from Woodland Court and will contain 32 lots. He said that the subdivision will be less dense than the 100 units that were permitted under the M2 zoning. He said that they had met with the City and had made modifications to the plat including increasing street width to 22 feet wide with 2 foot rolled curbs, the private streets being built to City standards, and splitting the subdivision into two parts with two separate means of ingress/egress. He said that they had provided the City with a draft of HOA covenants and restrictions that will address accessory structure and fence placement, 1 prohibiting street parking, mandating housing materials, and prohibiting short-term rentals. He said the private roads will end in cul-de-sacs which will provide enough turn-around space for City services and will be the place of the cluster mailboxes. He said that a portion of the site is in the floodplain and that homes in those areas will be raised out of that area. Mr. Reischl said that this plat came to the Plan Commission in June of last year and at that time, the Plan Commission had an issue with the number of units served by one entrance and the width of the roads. The applicants have corrected those issues, but Staff is still concerned with the number of units being served by private drives. This would be the largest subdivision in served solely by private roads which could cause issues with snow removal and other public services and that eventually the neighborhood may want the City to take over the roads and make them public. Mr. Webb asked if the property was zoned for apartments which Mr. Reischl said it was prior to it being rezoned for single family and that the previous zoning would have allowed 100 apartment units to be built there. Ms. Reed said she has concerns with the private roads because HOAs could dissolve and that having to take over private roads is a large issue for the City as well as having to address complaints from residents who think they are on public roads but do not receive services because they live on private roads. She asked why these roads had to be private which Mr. Hunter said that City standards require wider roads and right-of-way which would prevent them from building the houses in their preferred foot print. He said initially they only had 20 feet of paved surface but after speaking with Mr. McCutcheon, they have increased it to 28 feet to accommodate fire truck access. He said that the roads would be built to City standards so if the City ever took them over, they would be built the same as other roads are which Ms. Reed said that because they were not as wide, they actually weren't to City standards. Mr. Reischl said that the UDO requires 50 foot of right-of-way which would include sidewalks and other required areas which is part of the reason they are requesting the roads to be private. Ms. Reed asked why they wouldn't provide sidewalks in a residential area which Mr. Hunter said that there are no sidewalks in Melwood or the surrounding area. Ms. Reed said she has concerns with the private roads because she sees future issues occurring with them, particularly the lack of sidewalks and City services if the HOA ever dissolves. Mr. Lewers said that the standard width of roads in the City is 24 feet wide which is what is being built and that the additional right-of-way width is to accommodate utilities and future growth. The utilities will be placed on each property and that this subdivision cannot grow in the future. Mr. Reischl said that there may be some merit to having a private road in Phase One of the project as if that road was public, the neighboring apartment complex could potentially tie into it and would also not be able to build a fence between the subdivision and the apartments. Ms. Reed said that she has two private roads in her district and that maintaining them is very difficult and that if the road standards change, it could be extremely costly to update should the city take them over. Mr. Avery said that they reduced the number of lots from the maximum they could have under the multifamily standards and asked how big the lots were going to be which Mr. Lewers said they would be around 5,000 sf. Mr. Lewers said that if they were to make the roads public, it would reduce the number of lots available which would increase the price points of the houses or prevent them from moving forward with the project. Ms. Reed asked what the process is for the City taking over a private road which Mr. Reischl said that there have been a couple instances of this occurring over the years and that the Engineering Department requires core samples to determine how the road was constructed and that everyone in the subdivision would have to sign off on having a piece of their property taken by the City as portions of the road are tied to individual lots and finally it would have to be 2 4 4 approved by the Board of Public Works. Ms. Reed asked if there would be a cost to the City if the roads were taken over which Mr. Merkley said that would be up to the City Engineer to determine. Mr. Lewers asked if the City Engineer would be willing to work with them when they start to build the roads to ensure they meet the City's standards which Mr. Reischl said that he thinks the Engineer would be willing be able to. Mr. Webb said that if they didn't rezone the property, they may not have needed to come to the board for approval of up to 100 apartments. Mr. Avery said that if they were apartments, all of the roads would have been private which Mr. Reischl said that in that case there would only be one entity to maintain those roads. Mr. Bottorff said that it looks like they have worked to address all of the issues that were brought up at the prior meeting. Open Public Comment Florence Cook of 1980 Cardinal Lane said that she has lived next to the site for 10 years and that her biggest concern is the increase in traffic on the curve. She said she spoke with the Streets commissioner about adding signage at the curve but nothing was confirmed. She said that multiple cars have gone through her yard because they missed the curve and while she's excited that something will be built on the property, she would like to see something to help control traffic flow. Close Public Comment Mr. Hunter said that he agreed with Ms. Cook that some signage is needed there and that it would benefit the development and the neighbors in the area. Mr. Webb said he's more in favor of single family homes than apartments. Ms. Reed said she still had concerns about the private roads because of the negative experiences she's had but said that as long as they are committed to not neglecting the neighborhood in the future, she won't stand in the way of the development. Mr. Bottorff made a motion to approve the Primary Plat, seconded by Mr. Webb. Roll call vote. Motion passed 4-0. Administrative Review Update None Report from Director's and Staff Mr. Reischl said that they had recently approved a number of minor plats and secondary plats as well as development plans in the last few months. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Plan Commission, the meeting was 4 adjourned at 6:03 pm. Mike McCutcheon, Chair Shane Shaughne sy, Secretary I 3