Planners Divided Over Ag 2 Petition
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
"The board is very fortunate today because we only have one case on the agenda," said Vic Virgil, Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission president, Wednesday, as he opened the meeting. "That's very unusual."
The petition by Michael Mantich was to rezone 1.288 acres from an agricultural district to an agricultural II district. The property is on the south side of CR 500S and 690 feet west of CR 525E in Monroe Township.
Dan Richard, plan commission director, said the property is near Sherburn and Sellers lakes. The tract of ground has exhausted its number of allowed sell-offs, he said, and Mantich wants to sell off one more.
In his remarks, Mantich said he wants to sell the property to his mother-in-law. The property will not be used for agriculture ever again, he said.
Remonstrator Gerald Dorgan said he owns 4.75 acres to the east of Mantich's property.
"My objection is we moved here 13 years ago from Chicago ... we moved here to get away from neighbors and what he's planning to do, we'll have neighbors in our back yard," Dorgan said.
"I don't see a problem," plan commission board member Charlie Haffner said. He moved to approve the petition. Norm Lovell seconded it.
Voting to recommend to the Kosciusko County Commissioners to approve it were Haffner, Lovell and Virgil. Voting against it were Kelly Easterday, Dick Kemper, Hal Strong and Barbara Carwile. Since a motion needs five members for the petition to go on to the commissioners for action, and there were four opposed and three in favor, Virgil changed his vote to deny to send it on to the commissioners instead of letting it sit.
A formal action to deny the petition was made by Carwile and it was seconded by Easterday. The vote to deny it was 5 to 2.
The petition will go before the commissioners at 10 a.m. Nov. 21.
With no other cases on the agenda, the plan commission then discussed proposed subdivision ordinance revisions and additions. They are not official revisions but ideas previously discussed for the plan commission's consideration.
Richard said they were "a shopping list of items to look at."
Ideas presented by plan commission assistant director Matt Sandy included: sell-offs from parents to children, subdivision entrance signs, green space requirements, retention and detention areas, farm covenants, an increase of filing fees for preliminary plats, state drainage statute placement on recorded plats, impact fees, proposal that the plan commission hear all petitions for vacation within platted areas and the creation of multiple tiers of agricultural zoning categories.
Strong said that if they do allow parents to sell off property to their children, there should be a stipulation that the property can't be sold for at least five years.
"This sell-off to children, we ran into abuses before," he said.
Kemper asked, "Do we really think we're going to police everything" and have some kind of fairness to the ordinances?
An example of the green space requirement would be that for every acre of home site, the developer must provide 30 square feet of green space area. Green space may include, but not be limited to, common retention/detention areas or parks.
"Other communities are doing it," said Sandy.
Of the overall proposals, Sandy said, "I have no answers at this point. I'm just here to throw out some thinking material."
Members of the plan commission include Vic Virgil, Charlie Haffner, Hal Strong, Don Ahrms, Kelly Easterday, Kevin McSherry, Barbara Carwile, Dick Kemper and Norm Lovell.
They meet at 1 p.m. in the county courthouse on the first Wednesday of every month. They are a recommending board to the county commissioners. [[In-content Ad]]
"The board is very fortunate today because we only have one case on the agenda," said Vic Virgil, Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission president, Wednesday, as he opened the meeting. "That's very unusual."
The petition by Michael Mantich was to rezone 1.288 acres from an agricultural district to an agricultural II district. The property is on the south side of CR 500S and 690 feet west of CR 525E in Monroe Township.
Dan Richard, plan commission director, said the property is near Sherburn and Sellers lakes. The tract of ground has exhausted its number of allowed sell-offs, he said, and Mantich wants to sell off one more.
In his remarks, Mantich said he wants to sell the property to his mother-in-law. The property will not be used for agriculture ever again, he said.
Remonstrator Gerald Dorgan said he owns 4.75 acres to the east of Mantich's property.
"My objection is we moved here 13 years ago from Chicago ... we moved here to get away from neighbors and what he's planning to do, we'll have neighbors in our back yard," Dorgan said.
"I don't see a problem," plan commission board member Charlie Haffner said. He moved to approve the petition. Norm Lovell seconded it.
Voting to recommend to the Kosciusko County Commissioners to approve it were Haffner, Lovell and Virgil. Voting against it were Kelly Easterday, Dick Kemper, Hal Strong and Barbara Carwile. Since a motion needs five members for the petition to go on to the commissioners for action, and there were four opposed and three in favor, Virgil changed his vote to deny to send it on to the commissioners instead of letting it sit.
A formal action to deny the petition was made by Carwile and it was seconded by Easterday. The vote to deny it was 5 to 2.
The petition will go before the commissioners at 10 a.m. Nov. 21.
With no other cases on the agenda, the plan commission then discussed proposed subdivision ordinance revisions and additions. They are not official revisions but ideas previously discussed for the plan commission's consideration.
Richard said they were "a shopping list of items to look at."
Ideas presented by plan commission assistant director Matt Sandy included: sell-offs from parents to children, subdivision entrance signs, green space requirements, retention and detention areas, farm covenants, an increase of filing fees for preliminary plats, state drainage statute placement on recorded plats, impact fees, proposal that the plan commission hear all petitions for vacation within platted areas and the creation of multiple tiers of agricultural zoning categories.
Strong said that if they do allow parents to sell off property to their children, there should be a stipulation that the property can't be sold for at least five years.
"This sell-off to children, we ran into abuses before," he said.
Kemper asked, "Do we really think we're going to police everything" and have some kind of fairness to the ordinances?
An example of the green space requirement would be that for every acre of home site, the developer must provide 30 square feet of green space area. Green space may include, but not be limited to, common retention/detention areas or parks.
"Other communities are doing it," said Sandy.
Of the overall proposals, Sandy said, "I have no answers at this point. I'm just here to throw out some thinking material."
Members of the plan commission include Vic Virgil, Charlie Haffner, Hal Strong, Don Ahrms, Kelly Easterday, Kevin McSherry, Barbara Carwile, Dick Kemper and Norm Lovell.
They meet at 1 p.m. in the county courthouse on the first Wednesday of every month. They are a recommending board to the county commissioners. [[In-content Ad]]