by Olivia P. Tucker
Times Reporter
The Scottsburg Advisory Plan Commission voted to recommend to the Scottsburg City Council to rezone a real estate parcel in Vienna from agriculture to residential at their meeting on May 15. The favorable recommendation is a step toward development of a new housing addition in the community of Vienna.
The project called Legacy Village was presented to the APC board to be built on a 30-acre property at 2693 South Vienna Road at the corner Vienna Road and Highway 356 south of Scottsburg. The project was originally presented in February and turned down by the board after a large crowd voiced opposition to the project.
But the developers Jeff and Jerry Mills and engineer Jonathan McCoy with Civil and Environmental Solutions in New Albany listened to the residents of Vienna from the previous presentation and altered their building plans.
The previous 111 rental homes were reduced to 60 total units, reducing the number of homes by nearly 50%, said McCoy. The 20 single-family home lots that were previously planned as rental homes will also be homes that will be sold to prospective homeowners, he said.
However, the residents of Vienna continued to express major concerns even though the number of houses planned to be built was decreased. Some said it still was a potential population increase that they didn’t agree with.
APC board member and Scottsburg City Council President Ric Manns said that he struggled with making a decision on the project. He said that he voted for the ordinance that allowed the city a 2 mile fringe area outside the city limits to manage the zoning of property from Scottsburg to expand the city. But he said he never would have thought that it would affect the residents of Vienna.
APC board member Stella Amick said that she gave credit to the developer and engineer for listening to the concerns that the board and the residents of Vienna had when the plans were presented originally.
Board member Martha Miller Smith said she felt empathy for the residents of Vienna but she felt that they could all work together.
But the citizens of Vienna unanimously said no when asked by APC board member Carla Zellers if they could work together with the developers.
The APC board hesitated on making a decision but finally came to a verdict of an 8-2 vote for sending the matter to the Scottsburg City Council with a favorable recommendation approving rezoning for the project. APC board members Eric Lowry and Todd Richey voted against the recommendation.