City May Annex 111 Acres
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
One of the properties is 91 acres and is west of Ivy Tech and is owned by Lora Ogden and Cynthia Zehr.
The other property is 20 acres and is west of the 91 acres and is owned by Cardinal Services.
Both properties are zoned agricultural and are north of U.S. 30 and could be zoned industrial, according to Jeremy Skinner, city planner.
At its April meeting, there will be a public hearing and fiscal plan presented for the annexation.
Council President Elaine Call asked Skinner the reasoning for the individuals wanting to be annexed into the city.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said the city approached the individuals about being annexed into the city because of the need for ground to be developed.
“The best use is not farmland anymore because they are adjacent to an industrial area and are close to infrastructure and a zoning designation that would increase the value of their property from agricultural to industrial,” Thallemer said.
Thallemer said it is an economic benefit for annexing the properties into the city.
“We feel annexing these properties are a good start to accommodating shovel-ready ground,” Thallemer said.
Skinner said the annexation will be good for economic development and said these are large tracts of land the city does not currently have.
“We have five industrial districts, but do not have a tract over 40 acres,” Skinner said.
He said the idea is to attract business owners looking to purchase larger tracts of property.
“This will give us an extra parcel of land to market to corporations or industries looking to purchase larger parcels,” Skinner said.
Councilman Jeff Grose said he felt the annexation was a proactive plan for the city.
In other business, Skinner reviewed redistricting of council district maps with the council.
The council at its Feb. 21 meeting approved Skinner pursuing redistricting for the city council districts to keep the council districts balanced from a population standpoint.
Skinner said he is trying to balance population in the districts and look at where future growth will be.
He said Districts 5 and 3 are growth districts and District 5 has dramatic population growth he does not see stopping.
He said District 3 has ground that can be developed.
He said District 1 has some growth, but not in the amount of growth Districts 3 and 5 have.
Diane Quance, District 5 city councilwoman, said she had concern that residents on Arthur and Clark streets are being represented by four districts. She said she thinks the area should not be represented by District 5.
Skinner will look at the comments by the council and get back to them.
Thallemer said the city council will travel to Fort Wayne March 19 to look at the city’s bike trails.
Thallemer also informed the council American StructurePoint, an engineering, architecture and planning firm based in Indianapolis, has completed a rough draft of the city’s strategic plan and will submit a copy to the city by the end of the week.[[In-content Ad]]
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One of the properties is 91 acres and is west of Ivy Tech and is owned by Lora Ogden and Cynthia Zehr.
The other property is 20 acres and is west of the 91 acres and is owned by Cardinal Services.
Both properties are zoned agricultural and are north of U.S. 30 and could be zoned industrial, according to Jeremy Skinner, city planner.
At its April meeting, there will be a public hearing and fiscal plan presented for the annexation.
Council President Elaine Call asked Skinner the reasoning for the individuals wanting to be annexed into the city.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said the city approached the individuals about being annexed into the city because of the need for ground to be developed.
“The best use is not farmland anymore because they are adjacent to an industrial area and are close to infrastructure and a zoning designation that would increase the value of their property from agricultural to industrial,” Thallemer said.
Thallemer said it is an economic benefit for annexing the properties into the city.
“We feel annexing these properties are a good start to accommodating shovel-ready ground,” Thallemer said.
Skinner said the annexation will be good for economic development and said these are large tracts of land the city does not currently have.
“We have five industrial districts, but do not have a tract over 40 acres,” Skinner said.
He said the idea is to attract business owners looking to purchase larger tracts of property.
“This will give us an extra parcel of land to market to corporations or industries looking to purchase larger parcels,” Skinner said.
Councilman Jeff Grose said he felt the annexation was a proactive plan for the city.
In other business, Skinner reviewed redistricting of council district maps with the council.
The council at its Feb. 21 meeting approved Skinner pursuing redistricting for the city council districts to keep the council districts balanced from a population standpoint.
Skinner said he is trying to balance population in the districts and look at where future growth will be.
He said Districts 5 and 3 are growth districts and District 5 has dramatic population growth he does not see stopping.
He said District 3 has ground that can be developed.
He said District 1 has some growth, but not in the amount of growth Districts 3 and 5 have.
Diane Quance, District 5 city councilwoman, said she had concern that residents on Arthur and Clark streets are being represented by four districts. She said she thinks the area should not be represented by District 5.
Skinner will look at the comments by the council and get back to them.
Thallemer said the city council will travel to Fort Wayne March 19 to look at the city’s bike trails.
Thallemer also informed the council American StructurePoint, an engineering, architecture and planning firm based in Indianapolis, has completed a rough draft of the city’s strategic plan and will submit a copy to the city by the end of the week.[[In-content Ad]]
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