Planners Take Steps Toward Overlay District
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Tim [email protected]
The Area Plan Commission approved a revised map and set of development criteria for the district Wednesday. Assistant County Planner Matt Sandy said the purpose for establishing the district is to provide the county with a set of criteria for commercial development within the district's two areas, along Ind. 15, north and south of Warsaw.[[In-content Ad]]County Plan Director Dan Richard said the county's goal is to limit the number of accesses to Ind. 15 while encouraging development. "We want to get developers to work together to limit the number of accesses," Richard said.
He said the County Planning Office's technical committee will work to facilitate communication between developers to establish cooperative solutions for drainage and road access and other infrastructure in the district.
Richard said, through cooperation with Kosciusko Development Inc., the county may, in the future, be able to offer incentives and aid for businesses and industries in meeting infrastructure requirements in the district. He said implementation of the overlay plan will most likely be gradual. "I expect it will start out very slow and limited," he said.
County planning officials have been working to establish the district for six months. Last month, the plan commission tabled an initial map and criteria to give officials more time for review. Sandy told the plan commission that several revisions were made to create the plan he presented Wednesday.
Sandy said discussions on the development of an overlay district began when work started on the Louis Dreyfus plant near Claypool. The northern area also was included after plans began to connect Leesburg to Warsaw's sewer system.
With the plan commission's approval, the overlay plan will go to the Kosciusko County Commissioners with a favorable recommendation Sept. 4. If the commissioners approve the plan, it could go into effect immediately. The commissioners also could turn down the plan or table it for further review.
In other news, the plan commission denied a request to rezone a tract of land from an agricultural district to a residential district. The land is on the south side of CR 1100N and west of CR 500E in Turkey Creek Township. Tom Burkett, representing the owners David and Alcia Coppes, told the plan commission the owners planned to subdivide the land into lots for houses.
The plan commission received three letters remonstrating against the request, and several owners of property near the requested rezoning spoke against it at Wednesday's meeting. Randy Smith owns property directly east of the Coppes' land. Smith said his property would receive excess water from residential development and that increased traffic would become a problem in the area.
Dennis Darr farms the Coppes' land. Darr told the commissioners he feels the rezoning would be a misuse of land. "I don't think we need to take more agricultural land and put houses on it," Darr said.
He said, with the number of houses currently for sale in the county, a new development might sit empty for some time. Plan Commission member Chuck Haffner said he felt the Coppes' land is an example of land that should be kept agricultural. "We have reasons to deny the request and no real reason to approve it," Haffner said.
The Plan Commission unanimously denied the request.
The Area Plan Commission is Vic Virgil, Tony Etienne, Larry Coplen, Charlene Knispel, Kevin McSherry, Bob Conley, Dick Kemper, Norm Lovell and Haffner. Absent Wednesday were Conley, Kemper and Lovell.
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The Area Plan Commission approved a revised map and set of development criteria for the district Wednesday. Assistant County Planner Matt Sandy said the purpose for establishing the district is to provide the county with a set of criteria for commercial development within the district's two areas, along Ind. 15, north and south of Warsaw.[[In-content Ad]]County Plan Director Dan Richard said the county's goal is to limit the number of accesses to Ind. 15 while encouraging development. "We want to get developers to work together to limit the number of accesses," Richard said.
He said the County Planning Office's technical committee will work to facilitate communication between developers to establish cooperative solutions for drainage and road access and other infrastructure in the district.
Richard said, through cooperation with Kosciusko Development Inc., the county may, in the future, be able to offer incentives and aid for businesses and industries in meeting infrastructure requirements in the district. He said implementation of the overlay plan will most likely be gradual. "I expect it will start out very slow and limited," he said.
County planning officials have been working to establish the district for six months. Last month, the plan commission tabled an initial map and criteria to give officials more time for review. Sandy told the plan commission that several revisions were made to create the plan he presented Wednesday.
Sandy said discussions on the development of an overlay district began when work started on the Louis Dreyfus plant near Claypool. The northern area also was included after plans began to connect Leesburg to Warsaw's sewer system.
With the plan commission's approval, the overlay plan will go to the Kosciusko County Commissioners with a favorable recommendation Sept. 4. If the commissioners approve the plan, it could go into effect immediately. The commissioners also could turn down the plan or table it for further review.
In other news, the plan commission denied a request to rezone a tract of land from an agricultural district to a residential district. The land is on the south side of CR 1100N and west of CR 500E in Turkey Creek Township. Tom Burkett, representing the owners David and Alcia Coppes, told the plan commission the owners planned to subdivide the land into lots for houses.
The plan commission received three letters remonstrating against the request, and several owners of property near the requested rezoning spoke against it at Wednesday's meeting. Randy Smith owns property directly east of the Coppes' land. Smith said his property would receive excess water from residential development and that increased traffic would become a problem in the area.
Dennis Darr farms the Coppes' land. Darr told the commissioners he feels the rezoning would be a misuse of land. "I don't think we need to take more agricultural land and put houses on it," Darr said.
He said, with the number of houses currently for sale in the county, a new development might sit empty for some time. Plan Commission member Chuck Haffner said he felt the Coppes' land is an example of land that should be kept agricultural. "We have reasons to deny the request and no real reason to approve it," Haffner said.
The Plan Commission unanimously denied the request.
The Area Plan Commission is Vic Virgil, Tony Etienne, Larry Coplen, Charlene Knispel, Kevin McSherry, Bob Conley, Dick Kemper, Norm Lovell and Haffner. Absent Wednesday were Conley, Kemper and Lovell.
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