Compromise Reached In Winona Rezoning
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
winona lake - Compromise was struck over a rezoning of property along Winona Avenue near the Argonne Road viaduct.
Instead of rezoning the property along the south side of Winona Avenue from commercial to single family residential, the town plan commission agreed to rezone it to multi-family.
The town's proposal, one of several rezonings that were considered house-cleaning, irked some landowners, who argued their property values would fall if rezoned to single family.
Officials said the zonings proposed by the town will shore up minor inconsistencies overlooked for years.
The property includes a vacant lot near the intersection, a small mobile home court and several houses.
Although the request has been debated for several months and sent back by town council to the plan commission for further review, some property owners, including Gay Robinson, said they still didn't understand the reasoning for the zoning request.
Plan commission members said they don't want to see the land developed in the future for commercial use because of the heavy traffic in the area.
Some board members said the trend over the past 30 years has been toward residential and pointed to a row of condominiums and two houses.
But Marta Hopkins, a local realtor, scoffed at the apparent residential trend and said such a notion is "silly."
Hopkins and Jack Birch, attorney for property owner Jerry Smith, argued that no landowners sought the change and that it would harm property values to their land.
Board member Randy Ruppel voiced adamant opposition to the plan because of opposition from property owners.
However, all of the landowners, including Gary Bowers, who is contemplating a small housing development on the vacant lot, agreed with the multi-family proposal.
The plan commission also approved rezoning four other tracts. Those include land near Winona Beach, Grace Music Building, Boys Club and a small portion near Kings Highway.
The recommendations will be considered by town council at its next meeting May 26. [[In-content Ad]]
winona lake - Compromise was struck over a rezoning of property along Winona Avenue near the Argonne Road viaduct.
Instead of rezoning the property along the south side of Winona Avenue from commercial to single family residential, the town plan commission agreed to rezone it to multi-family.
The town's proposal, one of several rezonings that were considered house-cleaning, irked some landowners, who argued their property values would fall if rezoned to single family.
Officials said the zonings proposed by the town will shore up minor inconsistencies overlooked for years.
The property includes a vacant lot near the intersection, a small mobile home court and several houses.
Although the request has been debated for several months and sent back by town council to the plan commission for further review, some property owners, including Gay Robinson, said they still didn't understand the reasoning for the zoning request.
Plan commission members said they don't want to see the land developed in the future for commercial use because of the heavy traffic in the area.
Some board members said the trend over the past 30 years has been toward residential and pointed to a row of condominiums and two houses.
But Marta Hopkins, a local realtor, scoffed at the apparent residential trend and said such a notion is "silly."
Hopkins and Jack Birch, attorney for property owner Jerry Smith, argued that no landowners sought the change and that it would harm property values to their land.
Board member Randy Ruppel voiced adamant opposition to the plan because of opposition from property owners.
However, all of the landowners, including Gary Bowers, who is contemplating a small housing development on the vacant lot, agreed with the multi-family proposal.
The plan commission also approved rezoning four other tracts. Those include land near Winona Beach, Grace Music Building, Boys Club and a small portion near Kings Highway.
The recommendations will be considered by town council at its next meeting May 26. [[In-content Ad]]