Neighbors press Plan Commission over PY Homes rezoning; commission continues case to April 21

RESIDENTS PRESS FOR CHANGES AS DEVELOPER ADDS SCHOOL SITE
The Zionsville Plan Commission on March 16 continued deliberations on PY Homes’ petition to rezone about 161 acres from rural R1 to rural R2 to allow a proposed single-family subdivision of 210 lots and a 21.5‑acre school-site land swap with Zionsville Community Schools.
Petitioner Rex Ramage of PY Homes said the revised plan reduces the previously proposed 269 lots, adds roughly 59 acres of open space and increases perimeter buffers and mounding above Zionsville’s zoning minimums. Ramage described a negotiated land swap with the school corporation that would provide the district with a more centrally located parcel and “some cash contributions” to support school needs.
WHY NEIGHBORS OBJECTED
More than a half-dozen neighbors told the commission the project still feels too dense and not in keeping with the rural character north of County Road 300. Greg McDaniel asked the commission to compare staff’s review of this parcel with another nearby subdivision and urged the commission to follow the lower-density guidance in annexation-era documents. Matt Cornichone, speaking for an 18-household neighborhood group, said the proportion of larger 85-foot lots has fallen from roughly half the development to less than 30 percent, a shift he said increases on-the-ground density where homes will actually be built.
Other concerns raised during public comments included traffic and safety near a potential school, nighttime lighting, wildlife impacts and whether the school parcel is, in practice, reserved for an elementary school or could be used for other purposes later.
PETITIONER RESPONSE AND TECHNICAL POINTS
Rex Ramage said the school board’s internal process and public meetings constrained when the developer could disclose the land swap. He added that PY Homes uses fiber cement, brick and stone and said the developer is willing to negotiate additional buffering and landscaping for adjacent homeowners. Staff clarified density math: including the school acreage yields about 1.3 units per acre (gross); omitting it is about 1.5 units per acre (net).
COMMISSION VIEW AND OUTCOME
Commissioners said they were split. Several members said the developer’s commitments — increased planting, mounding and architectural commitments — make the proposal preferable to a by-right R1 option that might offer fewer protections, but they also voiced concern about the project’s proximity and transition to estate-size lots north of County Road 300. After discussion the petitioner voluntarily asked for more time to refine commitments and to consider removing (or “carving out”) the school parcel; the commission voted unanimously to continue the petition to the April 21, 2026 special plan commission meeting.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
The continuance gives PY Homes and neighbors more time to meet and discuss specific landscape, architectural and procedural commitments; the commission will revisit the petition April 21 and forward a recommendation to the Town Council afterward. — Sources: staff presentation and testimony at the March 16, 2026 Zionsville Plan Commission meeting