A concept plan for a new development in Franklin shows 216 homes proposed at Umbarger Lane and County Road 75S. Submitted map
A proposed Arbor Homes subdivision in Franklin has been halted as past derogatory comments about the city’s schools came to light.
The Franklin City Council voted 4-3 to deny a fiscal plan Monday for a proposed annexation and rezoning at the northeast corner of Umbarger Lane and County Road 75S.
The property owner, Palladium Properties LLC, and developer Arbor Homes requested to annex approximately 130 acres and rezone approximately 53 acres from single-family to agriculture and about 77 acres from single-family to residential suburban. The petitioners were asking to use the land for a subdivision of 216 homes.
The subdivision was proposed to be a mix of Arbor Homes and Silverthorne Homes, which is an “upscale” Arbor product that has not yet been offered in Franklin. The Arbor Homes would cost from the high $300,000s to low $400,000s and Silverthorne Homes would cost $400,000 to $450,000 or more, said Eric Prime, attorney from Van Valer Law Firm representing the petitioner.
Amenities proposed for the neighborhood included two pocket parks, two open areas with a playground, and an asphalt trail that extends the Franklin Greenway Trail, Prime said.
However, after an almost hour and a half discussion, the council decided in a split vote to deny the fiscal plan. That vote prevents the project from moving forward.
Council members Jennifer Price, Todd Shuck, Shawn Taylor and Anne McGuinness voted against the fiscal plan, while Irene Nalley, Ken Austin and Josh Prine voted in favor of it.
Public hearing
Nearby residents of the city and unincorporated Johnson County brought up diverse and sometimes opposing concerns.
Attendee Steve Yount wondered if there would be enough of the higher-end housing product. He referenced the city’s alleged housing upper-level housing gap and state law changes that will cause the city to need additional revenue.
“We may be needing to think about with development, how much tax revenue we’re going to generate from income,” Yount said. “So, we need more higher-earner income people on lots [that] would generate more money than not.”
Amanda Ott, board president of the Johnson County Housing Coalition, questioned that logic, saying it “hurt my heart.”
“A lot of these decisions that we’re making are basically choosing who lives here and doesn’t …” she said. “I don’t want Franklin to be a community that worries about the income of someone moving in and what that will be as revenue to the city.”
An attendee who farms west of the site thinks Umbarger Lane is already difficult to navigate with equipment. Even with commitments to widen the road, he doesn’t think it will make a difference unless the road is widened by 30 feet on each side. If another car is coming down the road, the farmers can’t pull over, and it becomes “a Mexican stand off,” he said.
“You guys are not probably taking into consideration what you’re fixing to do to us with this development here,” he said.
Attendee Scott Holzhausen said the proposed subdivision was “probably one of the worst ideas I’ve seen in a long time.” He had concerns about water, sewage, drainage and his well.
“I didn’t buy a place out in the country for you all to put a housing development across the street,” he said.
Other concerns included potential crashes because of a hill on Umbarger Lane, liability with a nearby 30-foot-deep pond, disappearing agricultural land, drainage issues already in the area, an influx of renters, more pressure possibly put on roads, public safety and schools, and a change of scenery.
“Again, not opposed to progress, but [I] would encourage that there be something considered in this plot [like] landscape mounds or something, not to ruin what [my family has] enjoyed out there for all these years,” said Derek Mobley, who has family living near the development. “My dad still continues to sit outside in his little lawnchair to watch the deer as they come out in the evening across the field.”
Mobley was also concerned Arbor Homes would do “a bait and switch” with providing Silverthorne Homes.
In rebuttal, Prime said Franklin Community Schools confirmed there would be sufficient capacity and the developer commits to improving Umbarger Lane and County Road 75S in the area, including widening and acceleration/deceleration lanes. He added that 45% of the homes in the development will be Silverthorne Homes, and the developer could include a minimum rental term in contracts and the commitments for the project stay with the land, preventing “a bait-and-switch.”
With drainage, the runoff rate cannot be greater than what it is now after the development is built, and drainage typically improves because detention ponds help the runoff rate decrease, Prime said.
He also pointed out how much work has been done with the project, saying the first few proposals — the first of which had more homes and only offered the Arbor Homes product — “did not go over very well” with Franklin planning staff, he said.
“Your staff went to bat for the city and forced us, frankly, to come up with a better plan … ,” Prime said. “What we showed tonight is the product of eight months of hard work by your staff to make this make sense for the city.”
Council comments
McGuinness brought up a “derogatory inference” Arbor Homes previously made about the Franklin schools at a Bargersville Plan Commission meeting in 2022. She said Arbor Homes stated that the Franklin school district had an economic status difference compared to Center Grove and “didn’t really deserve the Silverthorne product.”
“I just have a really bad taste in my mouth right now for Arbor Homes,” she said. “Do I want to see Franklin have affordable housing? Absolutely, just like everyone else. But who are the companies we’re dealing with?”
The comment McGuiness is referring to was brought up during a meeting in January 2022. The town was considering Copper Meadows, an up to 107-home subdivision on 38 acres, when an official asked Arbor Homes why the project didn’t have Silverthorne, and a representative said they didn’t think they would sell easily in the Franklin school district. In a subsequent meeting, the representative clarified that the reason Silverthorne would not work with that project was because of the market and size of the property compared to the size of a lot needed to build a Silverthorne home.
Back at Monday’s Franklin meeting, McGuinness was concerned Arbor Homes would do “a bait-and-switch” with providing the Silverthorne Homes. She mentioned how Prime said that some Arbor models “can go either way” and fit a larger lot as a “Silverthorne-style home.”
While Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett is in favor of the project, he also took issue with Arbor Homes’ past comments about Franklin schools.
“That went through me like a ton of bricks, that our school system was not capable of having people that can afford those homes,” Barnett said. “I could not believe a company would say that, and I’m looking past that. I am in favor of this project myself; however, I think Arbor Homes needs to learn how to talk with people.”
Barnett added that he has had issues with Arbor Homes in the past, saying Bluffs at Youngs Creek was almost shut down because of the developer’s “attitude.”
Taylor questioned aspects of the subdivision design, like the parks and small lot sizes.
“This isn’t the best that Arbor [Homes] can do. Why don’t they bring their best to Franklin?” He said.
Other questions from the council included why the land hadn’t been annexed before, what was discussed in the initial stages of planning the project and what happens if the council denies the fiscal plan.
City attorney Lynn Gray said the land hadn’t been annexed because Franklin doesn’t pursue “hostile annexations,” so they only annex if someone petitions. She also said that a fiscal plan is required to be approved before the council can consider annexing the land.
During initial development discussions, planning staff brought up things like amenities, the quality of homes and the original lot design not contributing to a “cohesive” neighborhood, said Joanna Tennell, Franklin’s planning director.
Although Austin hopes the drainage at County Road 75S is addressed, he voted to approve the fiscal plan. He believes the city can accommodate the development, which is what a vote on the fiscal plan is supposed to be about. While not all people could afford these homes, it fills a gap in the city, he said.
“I think our comp plan addresses a gap in the city not having those homes available and I think the city has done an excellent job of providing the extra amenities and all the points that [Tennell’s] made to make these nicer for the city on the east side,” he said.
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