The Fishers City council had a pointed discussion about zoning policy before approving a rezone requested by Pulte Homes to develop 21 homes at 11052 Cumberland Road by a 6-2 vote. The development, known as Gerardot Planned Unit Development (PUD), is 9.15 acres that was rezoned by the Council vote to reflect the specific zoning for this project as part of the PUD.
Councilman Brad DeReamer was critical of the Pulte plan for this project, saying there will not be enough space between the homes to install heating and air conditioning units. DeReamer also explained a view he has expressed often during his time on the Council, saying PUDs do not respect the zoning ordinances of the city. A PUD essentially provides the zoning rules for that particular development.
Council President Pete Peterson expressed support for using PUDs in developments, arguing this process allows the city to get changes from the developer favorable to the city.
The vote to approve the rezone was 6-2, with Councilors DeReamer and Bill Stuart voting no. Stuart attended the meeting remotely. Councilman Todd Zimmerman was not in attendance.
In other matters before the Council Monday night:
–Life Science firm 1Elaven plans to move its operations from San Diego to Fishers in a currently vacant space measuring 130 square feet, at 12001 Exhibit 5 Parkway, providing 120 jobs over 10 years with an average salary of $90,000 annually. Councilors unanimously voted to approve the economic development package.
–The Council approved the annual review of economic development compliance by firms entering into such agreements with the city. Only 2 were terminated, Republic Waste and Stanley Security. Republic has since moved from the site that created the incentives and Stanley’s agreement was terminated by the company’s request. All other economic development deals show compliance by the private firms.
— The Fishers Fire and Emergency Services Department requested increases in emergency services fees, covering additional costs. The Council suspended the rules by unanimous vote and passed the changes. For more on the changes, see this link.
–Councilors gave first reading to changes in the property maintenance code. The new language changes some verbiage that has not been updated since 2014. For the proposed fees, use this link. You can review the proposed ordinance language at this link. The ordinance is not yet final.
–The Council changed the city’s salary ordinance to provide an Executive Lieutenant position in the Police Department.
–Final approval was given to the Gray Eagle project for apartments on the grounds of the golf course.