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Before a petition before the Kosciusko County Board of Zoning Appeals is approved or denied, the petitioner must notify adjacent property owners.
In the case of Bright PC's petition for an exception for a communications tower in an agricultural district, notifying Nappanee, an adjacent town to the property, was also desired by some of the BZA members.
The property where Bright PC wants to build a communications tower is on the west side of Ind. 19 and south of the Nappanee corporate line in Scott Township.
According to a Bright PC representative, the communication tower is approximately 700 feet west of Ind. 19 and 525 feet south of the Nappanee corporate line. Bright PC is leasing a 100-foot by 100-foot piece of property for the tower. The tower will be fenced in, stoned and monitored 24 hours a day.
The representative said Bright PC already has several towers in Kosciusko County and is building a network of towers.
Remonstrator George Flowers was concerned about the interference the tower would cause with his electronics. A remonstrator, who is planning a development north of the proposed tower site, was concerned about the lighting of the tower and the tower being painted red and white. The developer said the tower will affect his development.
The attorney and city zoning administrator for Nappanee also remonstrated. They said that the property, currently zoned agricultural, is an area they see as going residential in the future. The attorney said if the tower is intended to serve Nappanee, the town believes that the Nappanee city provisions should be considered. The petitioners did not contact the town of Nappanee about their petition.
Nappanee ordinances don't allow telecommunications towers in residential areas. Their ordinances prefer towers to be in areas where the towers will blend in with the surrounding area, the town attorney said.
A developer to the east of the proposed tower site expressed concern about the tower lighting, too.
The Bright PC representatives said they are regulated by the Indiana Regulatory Commission as a public utility and they have tests they must meet to guarantee they won't interfere with other signals. Tower lights are pointed up and the company doesn't like to paint their towers, but that's decided by the Federal Communications Commission. The representatives also said they didn't notify Nappanee because they're not in Nappanee's jursidiction and they followed all the legal requirements.
As far as the area becoming residential, the Bright PC representatives said, the property owner has no plans to sell his property.
BZA member Charlie Haffner said until the petitioner and the town of Nappanee discuss the matter, the BZA isn't going to approve the petition. He moved to continue the petition for a minimum of 30 days. The motion died 2 to 3. A motion to deny also died by a vote of 2 to 3. Board member Ron Sharp's motion to approve died from a lack of a second. Sharp's next motion to continue for 30 days to allow Bright PC and Nappanee to talk was approved.
Approximately 67 petitions were brought before the BZA Tuesday.
Some of the petitions approved included:
• Wawasee Boat Co.'s petition for an exception for the expansion of a previously granted exception to allow a marina to expand the existing boat storage in a commercial district. The property is on the south side of Cornelius Road and west of a 20-foot right of way in Turkey Creek Township.
• Gregory Smith's petition for an exception to expand a non-conforming seasonal campground by constructing a maintenance building and to allow the construction of a deck in an agricultural and residential district. The property is on the west side of CR 950E and south of Epworth Forest Road in Tippecanoe Township.
• Mark Wise's petition for a variance to permit the construction of a deck 30 feet from the road right of way. The property is on the west side of CR 1000W and 650 feet north of CR 800S in Franklin Township.
• Ralph Wilson's petition for a variance to permit the placement of a mobile home 20 feet from the right of way of EMS B20D Lane and 9 feet off the north property line. The property is on the west side of EMS B20D Lane and west of EMS B21 Lane in Tippecanoe Township.
• Continued to the July meeting was Kale Island Beacon's petition for a variance to permit an off-premise sign to remain at its current location. The property is on the north side of Pickwick Road and east of East Shore Drive in Turkey Creek Township. There were approximately 12 letters of remonstration.
Members of the Kosciusko County BZA are: Charlie Haffner, Vic Virgil, Ron Sharp, Bob Beer and Walt Church.
