Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Rezonings were down and hearings on subdivisions were slightly up before the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission in 2001 compared to 2000.
Variances in 2001 before the Kosciusko County Board of Zoning Appeals were up compared to 2000, while exceptions have been decreasing in the past couple of years.
Wednesday, plan commission director Dan Richard presented a report to the plan commission on the commission's and BZA's hearings since 1975.
In 2001, the plan commission heard 19 rezoning petitions; 35 in 2000 and 1999; and 30 in both 1998 and 1997. When the plan commission first began hearing rezoning requests in 1975, it heard 34 petitions. The most rezoning petitions heard were 54 in 1978.
There were 17 subdivisions before the plan commission in 2001; 12 in 2000; 23 in 1999; 17 in 1998; and 24 in 1997. In 1975, there were 16; 21 in 1976 and 17 in 1977. The highest number of subdivision requests for approval before the plan commission was 28 in both 1978 and 1979.
The highest number of variances before the BZA was 311 in 1994, with the most exceptions (192) in 1999.
In 2001, the BZA heard 294 variance requests. The BZA did not reach the three-digit figure in number of variance petitions until 1986 (124); reached the 200 figure in 1990 (213); and reached the 300 figure three times (1994, 311; 1995, 307; and 1999, 304).
While the BZA heard 155 exceptions in 2001, they heard 169 in 2000; 192 in 1999; and 173 in both 1997 and 1998. In 1975, they heard only 23 exceptions, 27 in 1976 and 43 in 1977. Though they have not reached the 200 mark yet, the BZA first heard more than 100 exceptions in 1988 (110) and never fewer than 109 since.
Combined, the BZA and plan commission held 485 hearings in 2001, down from 503 in 2000 and 554 in 1999, the highest number of plan commission and BZA hearings.
In 1975, the two boards heard only 78 petitions and only 93 in 1976. Since 1991, the two boards have never held fewer than 431 hearings a year.
Dan Richard, plan commission director, said he was surprised at how much the number of rezonings and subdivision requests are down. In the first few years of the plan commission, he said, there was "lots of activity" but that since has dropped.
Kelly Easterday, plan commission member, said it would be interesting if Richard could compile a report on how many of the subdivisions that came before the commission in the past five years are actually complete.
While there are not a lot of subdivisions, commission vice chair Charlie Haffner said, there are "a heck of a lot of units out there."
