Published: May 11, 2008 01:32 pm            

Developer won’t spend ‘an arm and a leg’

An assisted living facility planned for U.S. 421 needs a few more tweaks before it can win approval from the Zionsville Plan Commission.

However, Michael Andreoli, attorney for the developers, warned that they do not want to “spend an arm and leg to try to try to shoehorn” the facility into Zionsville if it is not wanted. He added that does not mean the developers do not want to work with the town.

Andreoli asked for the plan commission to forward a zoning change from neighborhood business to business office to the town council with a favorable recommendation, but the development plan was not yet ready for the commission’s consideration. The commission voted 6-0 to continue both so they could be considered at the same time.

The developer needs the zoning change because B-0 allows assisted living facilities with a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals. B-0 is the only zoning classification in Zionsville that allows assisted living facilities, Zionsville Planning Director Terry Jones said.

The 5.7 acre, 131-bed facility called The Hearth at Zionsville, to be located at 11700 N. U.S 421, would have two wings. One would be a 30-bed Alzheimer’s wing, the other section for those needing moderate-to-intensive assistance.

Andreoli said the new facility would benefit the community by adding to the tax base without adding new students to the school system. It would also be taxed at the higher 3 percent commercial property tax rate rather than the 1 percent residential rate.

Edward Kowcowitz of Lost Run Farm said he is opposed to the development.

“It is just not the feel and look I expected when I moved from Carmel to Zionsville,” he said.

He said only two of the 20 homes sites in Lost Run Farm have been developed, and the assisted living project could hinder future development of the subdivision because it is the wrong type of development for the area. If they are not developed, Lost Run Farm’s high-end homes would mean substantial loss of property taxes for the town, he said.

Kowcowitz would prefer the area remain zoned neighborhood business, which would allow a chiropractor, an immediate care center or a veterinarian, for example, to locate there, he said.

Andreoli said Kowcowitz’s home is 990 feet from the development, and his view of the proposed facility would be blocked by trees for most of the year.

        

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