Reconsidering rules for water setbacks has already proved contentious for the Area Plan Commission, and it’s not actually on the agenda until next month. Commission members Wednesday started discussing the rule when Area Plan Director Dan Richards said a challenge in court has caused his office to consider clarifying how setbacks are measured. The question is whether measurements for the required 35-foot setback should be made using the closest point from the water’s edge, even if that means crossing another property, or if measurements should be confined to the property owner’s own land. Commission member Larry Coplen argued that measurements shouldn’t cross another property, and other members expressed surprise that that is the current practice. Chuck Haffner remarked that for all the years he’s been on the commission, “I had no idea we were measuring across other people’s lots.” Chairman Lee Harman said there may be differences in how members understand the rule, and Richards agreed to give clarification and present examples next month as the commission considers a rule change. Also Wednesday, commissioners agreed to give Candlewood subdivision owner Terry Shepherd until Sept. 23 to repair a catch basin on the property and until Oct. 5 to finish paving the road. They previously discussed a deadline for the paving, after which the county would pave the road and cash in a bond from Shepherd to pay for the work, but heard Wednesday that he has scheduled Niblock Paving to do the work in early October. Commissioners also approved a 10-year extension for a tax increment finance district north of Milford at the request of Dan Brown, chair of the Milford Redevelopment Commission, and Milford councilman Doug Ruch. The TIF was first established in 1996, and Brown noted there are still infrastructure needs to address in the area. The commission also approved the rezoning from residential to agricultural of a 8.56-acre tract of land on the north end of both Wild Cherry Lane and Mulberry Drive in Turkey Creek Township. Curt Hursey requested the rezoning in order to place a storage building on the property larger than what would be allowed in residential zoning, for business use. And they OK’d the vacation of a 20-by-50-foot section of Zook Road that goes through a property at 6277 E. Pickwick Park Drive, Syracuse, at the request of Scott and Elizabeth Hirschman. Zook is a long-unused road and the vacated section is currently paved over with a driveway, and commissioners heard that adjoining sections of the road were vacated in the past. Commission member Bob Conley asked how a property owner could install a driveway over a public right of way without seeking prior approval. “They don’t need a permit,” Richards replied. “The attitude is, thank you for improving the public right of way.” Harman added that the message to the general public is that you do such things at your own risk. The three positive recommendations will go before Kosciusko County Commissioners during their Sept. 24 meeting.
