FRANKFORT, Ind. — The Frankfort City Plan Commission voted unanimously this week to recommend rezoning nearly nine acres in the Meadowbrook subdivision for multifamily apartments, clearing the way for a project city planning staff say helps address a persistent local housing shortage.
The recommendation, along with two other county zoning decisions for land recently annexed into the city, now heads to the Frankfort Common Council for final approval. The commission acts only in an advisory capacity on rezoning matters; the council makes the binding decision.
Nine Acres Cleared for Multifamily Housing
The commission’s highest-profile action came on docket CPC 2026-04, a request from developer Wildcat Resources LLC to rezone outlots 4 and 5 in the Meadowbrook subdivision, roughly 9.089 acres off Wilshire Drive, from single-family residential to C residential, the classification needed for multifamily housing.
City Planner Liz Stitzel told the commission the outlots have no frontage on the subdivision’s single-family streets and are accessible only from Wilshire Drive, where high-density apartments already predominate. She noted the request aligns with the city’s 2035 comprehensive plan, which already designates the area for C residential use.
Stitzel also cited a broader rationale for supporting the rezoning. “We know that the city badly needs housing,” she said, adding that multifamily development “allows for a much higher number of units on the same land than what single-family development provides.”
Phil Triplett, appearing on behalf of Wildcat Resources, told the commission the rezoning follows through on plans laid out when Meadowbrook was originally developed. “We think it’s consistent with everything that’s been in the works and we think it’s good for the city,” Triplett said, requesting a favorable recommendation.
A commission member asked staff to clarify the exact boundaries of the outlots, which are not yet fully platted or mapped. Stitzel walked through a 2024 primary plat to show the parcel lines before the commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval to the city council.
Two Annexed Properties Get Industrial Zoning
The commission also took up two routine but legally necessary zoning actions for land the city had already annexed. Under city ordinance, newly annexed property defaults to residential zoning until the commission formally assigns an appropriate district, and no permits can be issued until that happens.
Docket CPC 2026-05 covers about 2.9 acres occupied by 180 Recovery Services, land surrounded on nearly all sides by light and heavy industrial zoning in unincorporated Clinton County. Staff recommended industrial zoning to match the site’s prior county classification, and the commission approved the recommendation 6-0.
Docket CPC 2026-06 addressed roughly 44 acres at the NHK manufacturing site near the Interstate 65 and State Road 28 interchange. Stitzel noted that a minor address error on notification letters — a mailing address instead of the site’s location address — did not affect the legal notice published in the newspaper and, per guidance from the city attorney, did not obstruct the process. The commission voted 6-0 to recommend industrial zoning, consistent with the property’s use before annexation.
New Comprehensive Plan on the Horizon
During discussion, a commission member asked whether an updated comprehensive plan, currently being developed by the city, would supersede the 2035 plan referenced throughout the meeting. “It will replace it,” Stitzel confirmed, noting the existing plan is about 12 years old and does not address the city’s annexation out to the I-65 interchange or lasting shifts in community priorities. She said the COVID-19 pandemic “made some kind of permanent, lasting changes to things and environments and how stuff runs that have not gone away in the years since,” and that the new plan is expected to reflect those changes.
Commissioners also asked staff about drainage and future development east of the NHK site, where county-owned land is being prepared with stormwater ponds to support additional commercial and industrial growth near the interchange, including outlots already committed to a hotel and a gas station. Stitzel said engineering has been able to overcome known soil-stability challenges in the area, adding, “It’s just having a user that’s willing to do it.”