Council approves Prairie House rezoning despite residents' traffic concerns

New Albany — New Albany City Council voted 4–3 on July 21 to adopt Ordinance O 14 20 26, rezoning roughly 18.461 acres on East Dublin-Granville Road to an IPUD for a proposed Prairie House neighborhood.

The hearing included a detailed presentation from planning staff and the applicant, who said the latest plan reduces the permitted lots from 39 to 38, increases the setback along East Dublin-Granville Road from 50 feet to 60 feet, relocates a playground closer to homes, and doubles certain distances between water basins and property lines as part of the revised stormwater design. Applicant counsel Aaron Underhill told council the project includes “commitments here for these all to be bridal loaded with a commitment in here to landscape in accordance with what's across the street at Pickett Place,” and offered timing commitments to address traffic concerns.

Why it mattered: dozens of neighbors from Pickett Place and Brooksview Circle urged council to postpone final action until city traffic modeling could be completed and reviewed in a school-year context. Matthew Friedman, speaking for nearby residents, said neighborhood petitions signed by roughly 90 households asked that council “allow the service department's work to be completed before taking final action on rezoning,” citing congestion, difficult left-turns and safety at bus stops.

Traffic and engineering: council and staff pressed the applicant’s civil engineer, Curtis Eckleberry of Advanced Civil Design, for details on stormwater routing and the design of retention basins. Eckleberry said surface water will be conveyed to an on-site pond and that the design will be subject to final engineering review and permitting. City staff and the applicant clarified that final development plan approvals, city-engineer conditions and permitting remain necessary before construction.

Applicant timing commitments: Underhill told the council he could “commit to not beginning construction on the internal public streets until the earlier of the traffic study being completed or 03/01/2027” and also volunteered that the developer would not seek certificates of occupancy before Sept. 1, 2027, to give the city time to complete the corridor study and any recommended mitigation.

Council action: after public comment and prolonged discussion, councilmember motion, followed by roll call, yielded four votes in favor and three opposed, and the ordinance passed. Mayor Spalding emphasized that rezoning approval is step one in a continuing process and that “this is a yes to this question. It's not a yes to the entire project,” noting multiple future review points for design, engineering and traffic mitigation.

What happens next: city staff confirmed the traffic/corridor study is underway and that staff expects a full report with recommendations by the end of September; the study will use a 10-year planning horizon and model background growth. Council and staff committed to review and, where appropriate, require mitigations such as restriping, turn lanes or other engineering solutions. Final development plan review, engineering permits and any outstanding planning conditions remain before construction can begin.

— Reported by Mayor Spalding and planning staff; applicant: Aaron Underhill. The council vote was recorded at the July 21 meeting; this article is based on council proceedings and on-statement commitments made on the record.