No homes have been built there for more than a year: only 68 of the 529 single-family home sites have been developed. Fischer Homes purchased 274 sites through a receivership last year after past developers Clayton Homes and Dixon Builders folded. Today, Fischer owns 52 percent of the development, said Planning Director Marty Kohler.
The biggest issue debated by commission members was a request by CEO Henry Fischer to reduce the 12-inch roof overhang requirement to as little as 1.5 inches on some exteriors. The approved change will not require Fischer to rework all of the company’s building plans, thereby preventing a “hardship” he said would cost too much money to be “practical.”
The builder also received a waiver on the use of “natural materials” — such as brick, stone and wood siding — up to the first floor on all exterior walls visible from the street. Instead, Fischer must only use brick up to four feet high on just the side walls of 132 homes and will have no requirement for natural materials on 82 lots that will feature less expensive homes as part of its “Maple Street” offerings.
In exchange for these variances, Fischer said many home fronts would exceed Middletown’s architectural standards with more expensive materials, larger floor plans and side garages.
While Kohler said the request would guarantee many homes will go beyond architectural standards, he compared the deal to blackmail as Fischer said he could build lower-quality homes still meeting the city’s minimum requirements, but they would not match the aesthetics of current homes in Renaissance.
About 25 people attended the meeting — many current home- owners in Renaissance — and most said they felt Fischer’s plans were well-suited to the area and would protect their investment.
Resident Joe Mulligan said granting the requests is “repeating the mistakes of Middletown’s past” by not following the Renaissance area’s original plan to attract higher-end residents with higher-end homes.
Mulligan said the city has too much low-end housing stock and Section 8 homes already.
“(Fischer would be) using Middletown’s best-available land to cram in as many cheap homes as possible,” he said.
Chairman Tom Brickey, who voted against the changes, said he felt Fischer was a big enough company not to have hardship to meet the development standards.
In contrast, Commissioner Chris Amburgey voted for the amendments, stating, “Two builders out there have already gone bankrupt. That’s evidence of hardship enough.”
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