Planners Approve Plat, Rezoning, Amendment To Flood Ordinance
November 7, 2019 at 1:11 a.m.
By David [email protected]
All were approved, with conditions on the rezoning and preliminary plat, and will go before the county commissioners at 9:15 a.m. Nov. 26. There were no remonstrators at the meeting.
David Caswell petitioned to rezone 20 acres from an agricultural district to an agricultural II district. The property is on the south side of CR 200S and 0 feet west of CR 600W in Harrison Township.
Plan Director Dan Richard said the property is vacant land, 20 acres in size and in an exclusive agriculture-zoned area.
“The reason it is 20 acres in size is that it needed to be as a sell-off. The original parcel has exhausted all of their allowed small sell-offs,” Richard said.
He said the petitioner wants to divide that 20 acres into at least two other parcels. Under the county ordinance, Richard said the “brakes are on. The brakes are on deliberately in an exclusive agricultural area, trying to limit the allowed number of sell-offs.”
Richard said for the property owners to try to get more sell-offs, they have to rezone it out of agricultural to either agricultural II or residential. He said residential is “pretty much out of the question” for that area, especially since there was a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) nearby. County ordinances are designed to try and protect agricultural operations.
He said the land is all pasture grounds, not crops, and abuts on two county-maintained roads.
Caswell said he wants the property rezoned so it can be split into two 10-acre parcels. His brother-in-law wants to buy 10 acres from him, and that will allow him to afford to build a house on their 10 acres. He said he asked for Ag II so he might be able to have livestock on his property sometime down the road.
He also said he lives in a subdivision now and wants to move out in the country and that he doesn’t have a problem with the country smells.
Caswell is a police officer and his wife is a probation officer so they don’t have a lot of money to build their own home unless they sell the other 10 acres to his brother-in-law.
He agreed to put on the plat and recorded deed a stipulation that if rezoned, there would be no further subdividing of the properties. The Plan Commission approved the rezoning 7-1 with that stipulation.
The next case before the board was for John Miller, who petitioned for a preliminary plat approval for an Agricultural II subdivision on 8 acres. The property is on the north side of CR 1350N and 1,000 feet west of CR 950W in Scott Township.
Richard reminded the board it approved the property to be rezoned to Ag II a few months ago. It is only going to be two lots. Richard reminded attorney Steve Snyder, who was there on behalf of Miller, that on the recorded deed and plat there needs to be a statement that the property won’t be further subdivided.
Snyder also agreed that a shed put on the property in the 1970s-80s, that never received a permit “and encroaches” setbacks, would be addressed.
Snyder told the board it’ll be a two-lot subdivision so Miller’s daughter can build a house on the new lot and be close enough to take care of Miller as he gets older.
County Surveyor Mike Kissinger noted that the setbacks on the plat were not correct in accordance with county ordinances. Snyder said he’d have those fixed.
The Plan Commission approved Miller’s preliminary plat unanimously as presented but with the corrections to be made.
Finally, Assistant Director Matt Sandy presented an amendment to the Kosciusko County Flood Control Ordinance regarding structures constructed on fill.
If approved by the commissioners, the new ordinance amendment will state, “A residential or nonresidential structure may be constructed on a permanent land fill in accordance with the following: b.) The fill shall extend at least 5 feet beyond the foundation of the structure before sloping below the base flood elevation.”
The ordinance previously stated “at least 10 feet beyond the foundation of the structure before sloping below the flood protection grade.”
Sandy said the base flood elevation is where FEMA says the flood plain is at, and the flood protection grade is what the Indiana Department of Natural Resources “says we have to build to.”
He said since the county adopted its ordinance in 2015, the state has gone back and “changed their model and found a discretionary issue in their model” regarding the words base flood elevation versus flood protection grade. Sandy said it makes the rules less restrictive to say base flood elevation than flood protection grade.
Regarding the number of feet beyond the foundation, Sandy said they had latitude to change that anywhere from 5 to 15 feet.
He said the two changes to the ordinance are less restrictive than they were and “have been blessed by the DNR.”
Kissinger said, “The state rule that was in there was ridiculous.” He said it was more restrictive than it needed to be, but the change clears it up while still protecting the landowners and flood issues. “But it makes it more reasonable.”
The change was unanimously approved to move forward to the commissioners.
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All were approved, with conditions on the rezoning and preliminary plat, and will go before the county commissioners at 9:15 a.m. Nov. 26. There were no remonstrators at the meeting.
David Caswell petitioned to rezone 20 acres from an agricultural district to an agricultural II district. The property is on the south side of CR 200S and 0 feet west of CR 600W in Harrison Township.
Plan Director Dan Richard said the property is vacant land, 20 acres in size and in an exclusive agriculture-zoned area.
“The reason it is 20 acres in size is that it needed to be as a sell-off. The original parcel has exhausted all of their allowed small sell-offs,” Richard said.
He said the petitioner wants to divide that 20 acres into at least two other parcels. Under the county ordinance, Richard said the “brakes are on. The brakes are on deliberately in an exclusive agricultural area, trying to limit the allowed number of sell-offs.”
Richard said for the property owners to try to get more sell-offs, they have to rezone it out of agricultural to either agricultural II or residential. He said residential is “pretty much out of the question” for that area, especially since there was a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) nearby. County ordinances are designed to try and protect agricultural operations.
He said the land is all pasture grounds, not crops, and abuts on two county-maintained roads.
Caswell said he wants the property rezoned so it can be split into two 10-acre parcels. His brother-in-law wants to buy 10 acres from him, and that will allow him to afford to build a house on their 10 acres. He said he asked for Ag II so he might be able to have livestock on his property sometime down the road.
He also said he lives in a subdivision now and wants to move out in the country and that he doesn’t have a problem with the country smells.
Caswell is a police officer and his wife is a probation officer so they don’t have a lot of money to build their own home unless they sell the other 10 acres to his brother-in-law.
He agreed to put on the plat and recorded deed a stipulation that if rezoned, there would be no further subdividing of the properties. The Plan Commission approved the rezoning 7-1 with that stipulation.
The next case before the board was for John Miller, who petitioned for a preliminary plat approval for an Agricultural II subdivision on 8 acres. The property is on the north side of CR 1350N and 1,000 feet west of CR 950W in Scott Township.
Richard reminded the board it approved the property to be rezoned to Ag II a few months ago. It is only going to be two lots. Richard reminded attorney Steve Snyder, who was there on behalf of Miller, that on the recorded deed and plat there needs to be a statement that the property won’t be further subdivided.
Snyder also agreed that a shed put on the property in the 1970s-80s, that never received a permit “and encroaches” setbacks, would be addressed.
Snyder told the board it’ll be a two-lot subdivision so Miller’s daughter can build a house on the new lot and be close enough to take care of Miller as he gets older.
County Surveyor Mike Kissinger noted that the setbacks on the plat were not correct in accordance with county ordinances. Snyder said he’d have those fixed.
The Plan Commission approved Miller’s preliminary plat unanimously as presented but with the corrections to be made.
Finally, Assistant Director Matt Sandy presented an amendment to the Kosciusko County Flood Control Ordinance regarding structures constructed on fill.
If approved by the commissioners, the new ordinance amendment will state, “A residential or nonresidential structure may be constructed on a permanent land fill in accordance with the following: b.) The fill shall extend at least 5 feet beyond the foundation of the structure before sloping below the base flood elevation.”
The ordinance previously stated “at least 10 feet beyond the foundation of the structure before sloping below the flood protection grade.”
Sandy said the base flood elevation is where FEMA says the flood plain is at, and the flood protection grade is what the Indiana Department of Natural Resources “says we have to build to.”
He said since the county adopted its ordinance in 2015, the state has gone back and “changed their model and found a discretionary issue in their model” regarding the words base flood elevation versus flood protection grade. Sandy said it makes the rules less restrictive to say base flood elevation than flood protection grade.
Regarding the number of feet beyond the foundation, Sandy said they had latitude to change that anywhere from 5 to 15 feet.
He said the two changes to the ordinance are less restrictive than they were and “have been blessed by the DNR.”
Kissinger said, “The state rule that was in there was ridiculous.” He said it was more restrictive than it needed to be, but the change clears it up while still protecting the landowners and flood issues. “But it makes it more reasonable.”
The change was unanimously approved to move forward to the commissioners.
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