Indian Trail Plan Will Be Discussed At Meeting

The much-debated Indian Trail Specific Plan goes one more round before the city Plan Commission members put their fingers on it.

Members of the commission will meet Wednesday with the Indian Trail Task Force to review changes made to the document - discussed, argued over and patched together over the past three years.

The meeting is scheduled at 2 p.m. at City Hall Room 200, with discussion limited to members of those groups. Citizens can attend the session, however.

Recent changes to the document resulting from two neighborhood workshops in June and early July will be discussed.

Those changes include a limit on the additional units that can be added to the Indian Trail area, plus changes in how and where planned-unit developments would be allowed.

The proposed cap would allow about 3,000 additional living units to be developed. The area now has roughly that number either built or approved for development.

Planned-unit developments share amenities and other features such as parking or open areas.

Following next week’s workshop, the Plan Commission will hold two public hearings on the proposal. Those will likely occur in August, said Charlie Dotson, the city’s planning director.

The commission will then forward the plan to the City Council for review. The council, in turn, will hold two more hearings and then either adopt or reject the plan.

Planners are hoping to complete the process so the city can take final action on the Indian Trail issue before a development moratorium expires.

That moratorium is due to end on Sept. 30. If the plan is not adopted by then, Indian Trail housing developments filed with the city would not be subject to planning provisions, said Dotson.

The plan has touched off strong feelings in the Indian Trial area.

Many residents contend it fails to adequately identify already existing problems of over-density and inadequate provisions for new roads, water and sewer system improvements and more parks.

Traffic, among other concerns, is sure to be a topic some residents will continue hammering as the plan moves forward.

“With a total of 6,000 dwelling units in the proposal, that’s not going to help the congestion problem we already have on Indian Trail Road,” said Mike Page, an area resident.

Page is a member of Citizens for Responsible Development, an adhoc Indian Trail group representing a group of residents uncertain about the plan’s impact.

“Our argument is that the traffic is bad already and it’s not likely to get better by doubling the density,” Page said.

, DataTimes