ZIONSVILLE — A commercial development called The Farm in Zionsville has been 15 years in the making. The project is finally moving forward, with tenants starting to move in. This comes as town officials weigh whether to encourage more commercial growth to expand the tax base.
According to Zionsville officials, only 13% of the town’s revenue comes from commercial properties, meaning 87% is paid by homeowners. Zionsville Mayor John Stehr said he would like to see the imbalance corrected.
"Apartment buildings are taxed at two percent and commercial entities are taxed at three percent,” Mayor Stehr said. “So ultimately that's going to bring in a lot more revenue than a home will, which is taxed at one percent. So this is the kind of thing I think we need to see in Zionsville more. We need to have more commercial development like this. "
One local property owner agreed when told the difference in revenue between property owners and commercial property.
"More restaurants, more business,” said Zionsville resident Bryan English. “We certainly need more of a tax base, and to that extent, that would certainly be good. "
That kind of growth is the goal of the town's comprehensive plan, which aims to figure out how to bring more commercial development to the area while maintaining Zionsville’s small-town charm, something English said is important.
"We all like our small community feel right, and so there's feelings that would be lost,” English said.
With development comes infrastructure needs. INDOT earlier this week installed a new traffic light on Michigan Road to control traffic and improve safety.
"So what this does it adds a pedestrian crossing, it adds enhanced safety and meets federal requirements for signal in that location,” Blake Dollier with INDOT West Central said.
As for future commercial development, English said he supports the effort and trusts local officials to consider all aspects.
"I have faith in our town council that they will look at all aspects and hopefully make the right decisions there,” English said.
The Zionsville comprehensive plan will look 10-plus years into the future. It is still waiting to be adopted. For more information, click here.
