Satori Pointe vote postponed due to anticipated lack of quorum at Avon Town Council meeting
UPDATE: 24-Hour News 8 has been told that the special council meeting will be held October 20 at 7 p.m. A BZA meeting scheduled for that same day will be held at the court room in the police station.
AVON, Ind. (WISH) — The Avon Town Manager tells 24-Hour News 8 that the vote on the controversial Satori Pointe development project will be postponed at least one week.
Tom Klein said not enough council members would be present at the regularly scheduled meeting to reach a quorum. The meeting scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. does fall during Avon Community School Corporation’s fall break.
Klein said a special meeting may be scheduled to conduct the vote or it would be put on the agenda for the next town council meeting.
Developer CRG Residential is asking the town to consider a variance to allow additional apartment unit than the planned unit development allotted.
A similar proposal was voted down in April after the council heard opposition from Avon schools officials and some residents.
- Developer presents new proposal for Avon’s Satori Pointe property
- Avon Town Council rejects 270-apartment plan at Satori Pointe
- Avon apartment proposal stirs controversy over school money
Satori Pointe is within a TIF district, meaning tax dollars do not pass through the entities like the schools, libraries, police and fire departments. Some worry building any residential units there would have a negative financial impact on the school district.
Schools officials say CRG representatives have offered the school district $55,000 to covered the lost tax dollars, but the district turned down the offer.
“While we appreciated the offer it did not mitigate the multi-year impact of lost property taxes. As we are taking the same policy stance in Plainfield with our objection to residences in TIFs there, we could not accept this offer,” said Stacey L. Forcey-Moore, Avon Community School Corporation spokesperson.
The school district released the following statement to 24-Hour News 8 on Monday.
The ACSC board is always interested in growth in our community. Growth, and the new enrollment it brings, help our schools stay strong. Funding for schools such as Avon has been reduced due to tax caps over the past seven years and we take every opportunity to do more with less. In this vein, our board opposes residential development in TIF districts because it curtails transportation and other funding. We remain open to any discussion that might alleviate this funding shortfall.-Mrs. Kim WoodwardPresident, Avon Community School Board