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Concerned citizens and the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission discussed changes to Kosciusko County's zoning and subdivision control ordinances for approximately three hours Wednesday.
After the lengthy discussion, the plan commission approved several changes to be forwarded to the Kosciusko County Commissioners for approval but decided to continue discussion on several other changes.
Issues the plan commission discussed Wednesday and will continue to discuss at their next meeting include those mentioned in Kip Tom's letter to the editor in Tuesday's Times-Union.
In fact, plan commission chairman Vic Virgil started the discussion by reading a copy of that letter. Tom's letter advocates the reduction of sell-offs from three to one for a single parcel of land as it stood in March 1975, and changing the exempt acreage from a 20- to 80-acre minimum.
County resident Carl Diehl was the first speaker and said he supports Tom's views. He said farmland is being wasted and anything the plan commission can do to reduce the wasting of farmland would be appreciated.
Developer Larry Coplen said in many respects, he, too, supports Tom's comments but not completely. Some people, he said, like to live in the country but Tom is indicating the answers to the county's problems may be to limit growth to the immediate boundaries of cities and towns so sewer and water can be extended to them. The community, though, is "pretty lax about that idea" and residents will fight it, he said.
"It's not an easy solution, that's for sure," Coplen said.
Plan commission member member Kevin McSherry asked Coplen what he thought about the acreage minimum being increased from 20 to 80 acres. As a developer, Coplen said, "I don't see that as a major problem." He said a developer would just develop the 80 acres in stages. However, he said, the key thing for him as a developer is affordable housing.
Syracuse town councilwoman and plan commission member Barb Carwile said not every town in Kosciusko County can afford to handle more residences to be added to their sewer and water systems.
John Roberts, resident, said he agreed with Tom on the 80-acre minimum but didn't know if the county should allow property owners to have additional sell-offs to give their children land.
Since Tom's numbers were the first time he saw anything in print from a county resident since he started serving on the plan commission, member Kevin McSherry suggested they should take Tom's numbers and kick those around.
County surveyor and commission member Dick Kemper said if they increase the exemption to 80 acres, it still may not remain agricultural land.
"There is no guarantee no matter what the size it is that it will continue to be farmed," Kemper said. "... I think we're being regulated to death."
County commissioner Ron Truex said a lot of houses are popping up around the county, not necessarily because of rezonings but because of the number of sell-offs allowed.
Former Elkhart County resident Eugene Martin said urbanization has gone rampant in Elkhart. Agricultural land is being gobbled up and water is being polluted. In fact, Martin said, an Elkhart County commissioner told him there is no future in farming in Elkhart.
"I think we need to somehow get the public educated about the economics of this thing," he said.
Karen Peterson asked the plan commission to continue to promote responsible growth in the county. Many people who live in rural communities don't understand how to live in those communities, she said. The more educated the public is on the issues, she said, the less heat the plan commission will receive.
The biggest problem in Kosciusko County, said Larry Polk, is spot zoning, which, he said, started in Kosciusko county in the early '80s. "Prior to 1980, we did not have a problem," he said.
Polk said orderly development is from the town out, which also would eliminate spot development. He also said 20 acres as a minimum makes spot development worse. "I want it to go to 80 acres," he said.
"I feel strongly what Kip Tom proposed should happen," said resident Max Deatsman.
Kemper said he is in favor of reducing sell-offs in lieu of allowing sell-offs to children. Kelly Easterday, plan commission member, said she is afraid if sell-offs are allowed to children, the process will be abused. Virgil suggested allowing sell-offs to children as special exceptions and on a case-by-case basis.
Carwile said she could go with 40 acres as a minimum for exemptions but she is against 80 acres.
Though the plan commission did not make any recommendations to the commissioners regarding the number of sell-offs, sell-offs to children or minimum size for exemption, Area Plan Commission Director Dan Richard said they will discuss the issues more at their March 6 meeting.
