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A plan for a 175-acre residential and commercial development near Morse Reservoir will move forward after it received zoning approval Tuesday night from a majority of the Noblesville City Council.
After nearly 2-1/2 hours of comments from council members, members of the public, the developer and housing experts, councilors voted 6-3 to approve a contentious rezoning plan for the $250 million Morse Village project on the city’s northwest side at the intersection of East 206th Street and Hague Road.
Councilors David Johnson, Darren Peterson, Pete Schwartz, Aaron Smith, Todd Thurston and Megan Wiles voted in favor of the rezoning request from Indianapolis-based developer LOR Corp., while council members Mark Boice, Mike Davis and Evan Elliott voted against it.
Plans for Morse Village call for 240 high-end single-family houses, 185 town houses and condominiums and 250 to 300 multifamily flats. Morse Village would also feature 30,000 square feet of retail space and restaurants, plus a new roundabout at the intersection of 206th and Hague.
“The Morse Village development will provide additional housing and commercial opportunities to serve our community’s growing need, along with the investment and preservation of greenspace,” Mayor Chris Jensen said.
The development is set to have three hubs: North Pointe, South Pointe and West Pointe.
North Pointe would feature 250 to 300 multifamily flats, 50 for-sale town houses, 40 single-family houses and 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
South Pointe would have about 200 single-family houses ranging from $400,000 to $1 million, green space, a clubhouse, trails, pickleball courts and a bald eagle preservation area called Eagle Park.
And West Pointe, the focus of most of the opposition to the project, would be the site of 135 for-sale town houses and condominiums—down from an original proposal for 165 units—as well as preserved landscape areas.
Town houses at West Pointe would range from two to four stories with the shortest buildings constructed on the north side of the area nearest the neighboring subdivision. The condominiums would be four stories tall with three floors of living space above ground-level parking. LOR agreed to plant additional trees along the north property line and on the west property line along Edgewater Drive to serve as buffers.
The developer also agreed to increased architectural standards on homes and other buildings throughout the development and to place rental restrictions on for-sale houses, town houses and condominiums.
“Our goal is to put together a project that will be successful. A project that people can feel good about,” LOR CEO Adam Hill said. “[Vice President of Development Phil Sundling] and I spent nights, weekends, working through the entire process to refine the plan. And it didn’t just happen once. We refined this plan probably 10 to 15 times.”
The plan for Morse Village drew criticism from nearby residents who opposed rezoning the property, particularly on the west side of the site nearest an established neighborhood and in proximity to a bald eagle nest. Jensen released a statement Monday that said city officials received threats about the proposed Morse Village project.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, 20 residents spoke during a public hearing, with 19 speaking against Morse Village and one speaking in favor of the development. Speakers expressed concerns about how West Pointe would impact the bald eagles, wetlands and home values. They also spoke about their opposition to inclusion of town houses, the pace of development in Noblesville, the impact on infrastructure and how the city will handle the additional growth.
More than 800 people also signed a petition calling for the city to reject the zoning change request prior to Tuesday’s meeting.
“The restaurants [in North Pointe] are needed. The homes that South Pointe will bring will be beautiful. This area deserves some attention. I don’t think anyone is arguing that. It’s just West Pointe,” said Sara Lassiter, president of the North Harbour Homeowners Association.
Council member Aaron Smith said he voted in favor of Morse Village because of the changes made to the plan over the past two months.
“With Morse Village, I voted to approve the project because I saw a real commitment to authentic compromise,” he said. “In the span of two months, the developer reduced the density, raised the architectural standards, enacted strong rental restrictions and committed to preserving 90% of the wetlands.”
City Council member Evan Elliott said he was in favor of Morse Village in October, but over time, he developed the belief that the project does not fit the area near Morse Reservoir.
“This is a very specific district. One that has a very specific feel to it. And we need to be very cautious about how we preserve that feeling because that feeling relates to the value of the property. And we have some great amenities in Noblesville that I am thrilled to have,” he said. “But we really need to decide … if we want this area to have amenities that every other area has, or if we want it to have its own unique structure.”
Now that Morse Village has zoning approval, the development will go through additional review steps, including from the Noblesville Technical Advisory Committee, Architectural Review Board and internal construction document review.
Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and will be phased over seven to 10 years.
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