Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Since 1975 the Area Planning Commission and the County Board of Zoning Appeals has held 10,443 hearings, according to 2005 year-end reports presented Wednesday at the APC meeting.
In 1975 there were 78 total hearings involving rezonings, subdivisions, variances and exceptions. Last year there were a total of 486 hearings, a 3 percent increase over total hearings in 2004, or 470.
The record year for hearings was 1999 when there were 554 hearings. The BZA also heard 192 exceptions that year.
Other records were set in 1994 when the BZA heard 311 variances. In 1978 and 1979 the APC heard 28 subdivision plans. Also in 1978, a record number of rezonings were heard - 54 by the APC.
In 2005 there were 37 rezonings, 17 subdivison plat reviews, 294 variances and 138 exceptions for the 486 total hearings.
In the last 30 years there have been 967 rezonings, 508 subdivisons, 5,574 variances and 3,394 exceptions heard by these two bodies.
Plan Commission Director Dan Richard said the figures indicate the county's development continues and the government accommodates development.
Also presented was a 30-year report on improvement location permits.
Total permits issued was given as 1,391 in 2005, representing $91,532,553 in construction dollars.
There were 328 permits for new single family homes; 424 singe family home additions; 46 mobile homes; 321 residence accessory buildings; two permits for multi-family residence permits; 12 permits for public use buildings; 36 permits for commercial buildings; 19 permits for industrial buildings; and 203 permits for agricultural buildings.
A record for total permits was set in 2003 with 1,674 permits issued. That year a record was set in total construction dollars, too - $210,306,807. The next highest construction dollar year was 1999 with a total of $98,761,981.
The APC also reviewed a month-by-month improvement location permit report.
Of the 203 total for 2005, the most permits were issued in September (30), followed by 28 in May. February, November and December had the fewest permits issued with eight reported for each month.
A hearing report shows 87 exceptions granted as petitioned, four granted "different" than the original, 36 granted with conditions, five denied, one appealed and six dropped.
There were 137 variances granted as petitioned, 47 granted different, 75 granted with conditions, 18 denied, one appealed, 13 dropped and four continued.
There were 24 rezonings recommended, nine rezoning denials, five dropped rezonings and five overturned recommendations.
