Staff Report PC17-013-PP/SP Westwood Landing- Plat Amendments

Docket PC17-013-PP/SP- Westwood Landing Plat Amendment: The petitioner is requesting approval of an amendment

to the Primary and Secondary Plats for the Westwood Landing subdivision, Section 1. The amendment will include a

revision of a Landscaping easements that was not originally located on the recorded plat as well as revisions to the

proposed buffer yard. The petitioner and property owner is Timberstone Development, LLC.

History • The subject property received WPC approval for a Primary Plat in late 2014.

• The creation of the Whitestown UDO was underway during Westwood Landing, Primary Plat’s approval process.

o The Whitestown UDO was created to combine the existing Whitestown Zoning Ordinance and the Whitestown Subdivision Control Ordinance into one document.

▪ Changes were done to this ordinance to prevent any overlapping or contradicting standards and grammatical errors.

• The petitioner received approval of the Secondary Plat for Section 1 in late 2015.

• A mistake was found on the original, recorded plat that has spurred the need to amend a specific area of the primary plat. With this amendment, the petitioner is requesting an amendment to utilize the UDO standards and available buffer yards to this portion of the incorrect plat.

o An adjacent property owner (Currently zoned Rural I-2 Zionsville) has voiced their concern, that this amendment cannot be done as the buffer yard being requested does not fit the context of other buffer yards within the UDO.

o A meeting with the concerned property owner and the petitioner was set with Zionsville Planning Department to seek alternatives.

Proposed Development

The applicant is seeking to amend the Primary Plat and Secondary Plat of Section 1 of the Westwood Landing subdivision

in order to fix a mistake on the plats that had mislabeled the Landscaping Easement within a Regulated Drainage

Easement. The petitioner is also seeking an amendment to this area to allow and enhance the K-5 buffer yard that is

now in the UDO. The major changes between the previously approved buffer yard and the requested buffer yard is the

elimination of an 8.0-foot masonry wall. This masonry wall was intended per the request of an adjacent property owner,

zoned I-2 within the Town of Zionsville. At the time of WPC approval, details of wall material and color were not

discussed.

Zionsville Buffer Yard requirements are classified as urban or rural. The I-2 Industrial parcel is currently listed in the

Zionsville Rural Area. The Zionsville’s Rural buffer yard requirements are more restrictive than if it is classified as I-2

Urban Zionsville- which is more in line with the K-5 buffer yard in the Whitestown UDO. A meeting with Zionsville

Planning Office between the petitioner and Zionsville property owner 5/31/2017. As a result, Zionsville’s requirements

include a 100-foot minimum yard for I-2 classification. Westwood Landing is offering a 50-foot buffer yard in which the

adjacent property owner can utilize to fulfill Zionsville’s requirements when and if it gets developed.

Previously Approved Buffer Yard (prior to Whitestown UDO adoption)

Bufferyard Alternative Width Canopy

Trees

Understory

Trees

Shrubs Evergreens Fence/Berm

K 1 50.0 6 9 36 18 BW3

2 75.0 8 12 48 24 BW2

3 100.0 10 15 60 30 BW1 or F6

4 125.0 8 12 48 24 B3 or F5

Requested Buffer Yard

Bufferyard Alternative Width Canopy

Trees

Understory

Trees

Shrubs Evergreens Fence/Berm

K 1 50.0 6 9 36 18 BW3

2 75.0 8 12 48 24 BW2

3 100.0 10 15 60 30 BW1 or F6

4 125.0 8 12 48 24 B3 or F5

5 30.0 3 6

0 0

- (6.0 foot

berm)

The original plat that highlights

the section to be amended is be:

Compliance The proposed primary and secondary plats are currently in compliance with the standards of the UDO. The amendment

request to allow a K-5 buffer yard and provide additional plantings exceeds the standards of the UDO. The amendment

to the buffer yard also exceeds Zionsville’s “Urban” buffer requirement.

The correction to the plat is below:

Staff Recommendation Staff recommends that the WPC approve the Primary and Secondary Amendment to the Section 1 of the Westwood Landing subdivision. The WPC should take in consideration of the UDO’s K-5 buffer yard and the proposed solution to the Zionsville-zoned adjacent property owner and the effects of this buffer yard change. The Covenant Conditions & Restrictions shall be amended and signed by both parties to allow the adjacent property owner to utilize a portion of the petitioner’s proposed buffer yard at the time of development.