Commissioners Again Deny Request For Subdivision Plat
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
If at first you don't succeed - try, try again.
For the second month in a row, attorney Steve Snyder presented a petition Wednesday before the Kosciusko County Area Plan commission for a preliminary plat for Cherry Creek Estates Subdivision on behalf of 1st Source Bank, with some changes.
And for the second month in a row, the plan commission denied the petition.
The residential development is on 20.176 acres on the east side of Packerton Road in Wayne Township. In November, the planners denied the petition because of lack of interior roads for the six-lot subdivision. That plat had four accesses to the development. The planners also said they'd like to see more density in the development.
The plat before the plan commission Wednesday had only three accesses to the six lots. But that still was one too many for the plan commission.
Dan Richard, plan commission director, said the technical committee and Kosciusko County Highway Department Engineer and Superintendent Rob Ladson believe the changes weren't significant enough. The need for interior roads with only one or two access points is supported by the Kosciusko Subdivision Control Ordinance and the comprehensive plan, Richard said.
The control ordinance says the plan commission "shall not approve any plat unless all streets shown on it shall be of sufficient width and proper grade and shall be so located as to accommodate the probable volume of traffic ... ."
Under the comprehensive plan, the following are listed as transportation and residential planning objectives: the county should restrict residential development that depends on private drives, limit the number of points going onto county roads that might excessively impair the efficiency or safety of the road system and create limited accesses along primary county roads to restrict "strip development" and traffic hazards.
Snyder told the plan commission the property is zoned residential. The drainage and soil types are not a problem and the sizes of two lots were changed to accommodate the three access points, down from four.
Remonstator Steve Petty, a neighbor to the north of the proposed development, said he'd rather see planned infrastructure along Packerton Road. Packerton Road has traffic problems and while adding more homes in the area is not necessarily in the best interest of the area, planned infrastructure will at least have more traffic control.
"The wiser decision is to have better infrastructure," he said.
Snyder said in the many years he has presented cases before the plan commission, it's always been a struggle to get the plan commission to approve a subdivision with fewer than two entrances. The development could have as many as 40 lots in it, which Snyder said would be more of a traffic hazard than six lots with three access points.
"Traffic congestion in my opinion is not an issue," he said. County ordinances say nothing about a property having to develop at least 40 lots, they can just limit the most a development can have.
"Six lots are better than 40," he said. If the plan commission does not accept the development, he told them they need to tell him what the developer has to do to get it approved.
Dick Kemper, county surveyor and commission member, said Wayne Township is going to be a residential area with more housing density. The county needs to plan for that.
If a property is zoned residential and he wanted to buy a two-acre lot in an area where everyone else has 20,000 square feet, what development problem does that cause? Snyder asked. The subdivision control ordinance gives the county a lot of control over a property owner's use of the land but doesn't say he can't develop it.
Kemper said this petition was one example of why the county needs different residential classifications.
Snyder told the plan commission his client doesn't want to develop more than six lots on the property.
Kemper made a motion to deny the preliminary plat, plan commissioner Kevin McSherry seconded and it was denied.
In other business, the January plan commission meeting will be Jan. 8 at 1 p.m.
Members of the area plan commission present Wednesday were Vic Virgil, Charlie Haffner, Kelly Easterday, Norm Lovell, Dick Kemper, Barb Carwile and Kevin McSherry. Not present were Don Arms and Hal Strong. [[In-content Ad]]
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If at first you don't succeed - try, try again.
For the second month in a row, attorney Steve Snyder presented a petition Wednesday before the Kosciusko County Area Plan commission for a preliminary plat for Cherry Creek Estates Subdivision on behalf of 1st Source Bank, with some changes.
And for the second month in a row, the plan commission denied the petition.
The residential development is on 20.176 acres on the east side of Packerton Road in Wayne Township. In November, the planners denied the petition because of lack of interior roads for the six-lot subdivision. That plat had four accesses to the development. The planners also said they'd like to see more density in the development.
The plat before the plan commission Wednesday had only three accesses to the six lots. But that still was one too many for the plan commission.
Dan Richard, plan commission director, said the technical committee and Kosciusko County Highway Department Engineer and Superintendent Rob Ladson believe the changes weren't significant enough. The need for interior roads with only one or two access points is supported by the Kosciusko Subdivision Control Ordinance and the comprehensive plan, Richard said.
The control ordinance says the plan commission "shall not approve any plat unless all streets shown on it shall be of sufficient width and proper grade and shall be so located as to accommodate the probable volume of traffic ... ."
Under the comprehensive plan, the following are listed as transportation and residential planning objectives: the county should restrict residential development that depends on private drives, limit the number of points going onto county roads that might excessively impair the efficiency or safety of the road system and create limited accesses along primary county roads to restrict "strip development" and traffic hazards.
Snyder told the plan commission the property is zoned residential. The drainage and soil types are not a problem and the sizes of two lots were changed to accommodate the three access points, down from four.
Remonstator Steve Petty, a neighbor to the north of the proposed development, said he'd rather see planned infrastructure along Packerton Road. Packerton Road has traffic problems and while adding more homes in the area is not necessarily in the best interest of the area, planned infrastructure will at least have more traffic control.
"The wiser decision is to have better infrastructure," he said.
Snyder said in the many years he has presented cases before the plan commission, it's always been a struggle to get the plan commission to approve a subdivision with fewer than two entrances. The development could have as many as 40 lots in it, which Snyder said would be more of a traffic hazard than six lots with three access points.
"Traffic congestion in my opinion is not an issue," he said. County ordinances say nothing about a property having to develop at least 40 lots, they can just limit the most a development can have.
"Six lots are better than 40," he said. If the plan commission does not accept the development, he told them they need to tell him what the developer has to do to get it approved.
Dick Kemper, county surveyor and commission member, said Wayne Township is going to be a residential area with more housing density. The county needs to plan for that.
If a property is zoned residential and he wanted to buy a two-acre lot in an area where everyone else has 20,000 square feet, what development problem does that cause? Snyder asked. The subdivision control ordinance gives the county a lot of control over a property owner's use of the land but doesn't say he can't develop it.
Kemper said this petition was one example of why the county needs different residential classifications.
Snyder told the plan commission his client doesn't want to develop more than six lots on the property.
Kemper made a motion to deny the preliminary plat, plan commissioner Kevin McSherry seconded and it was denied.
In other business, the January plan commission meeting will be Jan. 8 at 1 p.m.
Members of the area plan commission present Wednesday were Vic Virgil, Charlie Haffner, Kelly Easterday, Norm Lovell, Dick Kemper, Barb Carwile and Kevin McSherry. Not present were Don Arms and Hal Strong. [[In-content Ad]]