The Kosciusko County REMC's voluntary annexation request was denied by the Warsaw city council in a unanimous vote Monday.

Flanked by two Boy Scout troops attending for recognition and merit badges, county residents filled council chambers to capacity with many people standing as the council considered the request.

A public hearing regarding the annexation was held at the last council meeting, Oct. 6, when the first reading of the ordinance met with the council's favor.

Because the annexation is voluntary, adjacent property owners were not given notice of the proposal except legal advertisements in the Times-Union as required by law.

The request came with a rezoning specification, to change the property from residential to industrial-2. Lawyer Steve Snyder represented REMC and advised the council they could approve or deny the petition.

However, the utility company would then be free to request a special exception from the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission with fewer site restrictions than required by the city.

Located north of U.S. 30 and Corridor Drive, east of CR 250E, the 24-acre plot is bordered by 500 feet of the Hunter's Ridge housing subdivision to the northeast. To the south, the property is bordered by 1,000 feet of businesses zoned industrial. West of CR 250E the city has designated commercial-3 zoning.

Snyder indicated the utility's work yard and storage for service trucks and poles would be to the south. The office and the warehouse would be in about the center of the 26-acre property.

"The city planning commission will take a detailed look at the plan," Snyder said, adding the county's philosophy is to place housing subdivisions as close to a municipality as possible.

He said a public utility is a special exception in a residential zone and as long as certain criteria are met, the APC cannot deny REMC's plans to relocate on the property from its offices on Buffalo Street and storage and work yard at the south end of Detroit Street in Warsaw.

Rich Freeman spoke for the more than 40 county residents who attended the meeting, saying he represented property owners in Hunters Ridge, Five Oaks and families living along CR 250E.

"We know the REMC has every intention of being a good neighbor," Freeman said, while expressing his concerns about the land use in an industrial zone.

"Industrial buildings don't have to be attractive, can store hazardous materials and, inevitably, have to have a well-lit parking lot for employees," he said.

He cited possible drops in property values and neighboring properties also being zoned industrial, causing a detriment to the single-family community. He noted there were properties zoned industrial for sale in the city and wondered why the REMC couldn't consider them.

Freeman said he and his neighbors had no guarantee a transformer with PCBs wouldn't ever be on-site, that the business wouldn't operate 24 hours a day or that noise from chain saws cutting up poles wouldn't be heard throughout the day.

He asked the board to deny the petition.

Warsaw councilman Joe Thallemer said the area was targeted as residential according to the 1998 comprehensive plan. He said as a member of the planning commission since 1995 the proposal looked like spot zoning. But he warned those in attendance the county would have less control of the property, although it would remain residentially zoned.

"I'm fearful of how it will go at the county. You will have no guarantee of buffering, no guarantee of fencing," councilwoman Trish Brown said.

Council president Jerry Patterson said the REMC would be an excellent neighbor and he hated to lose control of the site plan, but he wanted to stick to the comprehensive plan, too.

After the unanimous vote to deny the annexation, Mayor Ernie Wiggins said the disposition of the property will now rest in the hands of the county and the REMC.

City council members are: Trish Brown, George Clemens, Jeff Grose, Jerry Patterson, Bill Rhoades, Charlie Smith and Joe Thallemer. [[In-content Ad]]