The Delphi Plan Commission approved a primary plat for the Bowen Estates project just before Christmas with a plan to construct 175 homes on 67.9 acres in Delphi.
The presentation that warranted the approval of the commission was presented by Greg Milakis of Kimley Horn, an engineering and design firm, on behalf of MGH Development, the property owners.
The primary plat was noted to meet all of the requirements set forth in the Unified Development Ordinance, which received a favorable recommendation for adoption in early December by the Plan Commission, and the Unified Development Ordinance will now be presented to the Delphi Common Council for adoption.
The Unified Development Ordinance, which aligns with the Delphi Comprehensive Plan, received a Plan Commission hearing on Dec. 1 this year, and the ordinance outlined the presence of primary and secondary plat approvals through the city government.
According to the ordinance, primary plats that were approved by regulations that were already in place prior to the adoption of the new ordinance that have not expired, have “expired per any previous terms and conditions that were in place” and is still valid under the previous regulations will continue the process based upon the rules and regulations that were set forth in the previous ordinances.
“If the previous provisions did not identify an expiration for primary plat approval and an application for secondary plat (all or in part) has not been received and completed within two years after the date of the adoption of this Unified Development Ordinance, then said primary plat shall automatically expire two years after the date of the adoption of the Unified Development Ordinance,” the hearing notes read.
A secondary plat has been in the works according to Milakis, which will be presented to detail the first phase of the project, which is expected to be around 30 single-family homes for the project.
The Unified Development Ordinance that received a Plan Commission hearing detailed the process of the secondary plat in respect to the passage of the new ordinance, stating “as long as the approved primary plat for a subdivision remains valid and has not expired, and the standards, structure standards and utility standards that were in place in the Zoning Ordinance and/or Subdivision Control Ordinance at the time the primary plat was approved shall apply to the secondary plat (all or in part) included in the primary plat approval.”
According to the ordinance, the Bowen Estates project will continue the process as the primary plat was only recently approved by the commission.
According to city officials, the Bowen Estates project will be the first significant residential development in Delphi since the mid-1990s.