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Unanimously, the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission voted Wednesday to recommend to the Kosciusko County commissioners that Sue Ann Huffman's petition to rezone ground from an agricultural district to residential be approved.
The property is on the north side of CR 350N and zero feet west of CR 100E in Plain Township.
On rezonings, the plan commission is only a recommending board to the county commissioners.
Area Plan director Dan Richard said the "substantial tract of ground" is in a lowland area.
Representing Huffman, attorney Steve Snyder said the property has some very significant features from a residential development standpoint. He said the property is close to the city of Warsaw which means at some point, infrastructure will be available. The soils in the area are good for building sites and septic. Adjacent areas already are developed residentially. There was no doubt in his mind, Snyder said, that at some point in the future, Warsaw will annex the area.
Richard presented the plan commission with a letter from Warsaw City planner Jeff Noffsinger, which states the area is a logical area for family development. Noffsinger also was present at the meeting and reiterated what he stated in the letter.
The preliminary drawing of the residential development is designed with a potential 128 lots. Currently, the property is empty with no residences on the site. No remonstrators voiced any opposition to the rezoning.
"I don't think there's any question residential is the future of this land," said Dick Kemper, county surveyor and Plan Commission secretary. Kemper made the motion to recommend the rezoning be approved.
The petition will go before the county commissioners at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 27 in the county courthouse, Warsaw.
Another petition before the Plan Commission was tabled until the Feb. 4 meeting at 1 p.m.
That petition by Donald Longacre was to rezone ground from an agricultural district to either an agricultural II or a residential district. The property is on the south side of CR 900N and west of CR 500E in Turkey Creek Township.
Snyder, also representing Longacre, said because the sale transaction of the property hasn't closed yet, the property owner didn't want to rezone the property until the sale was closed.
There were no remonstrators present, and the petition was tabled.
Members of the plan commission present Wednesday were Vic Virgil, Charlie Haffner, Dick Kemper, Kelly Easterday, Kevin McSherry, Norm Lovell. Not present were Hal Strong and Don Arms.
The plan commission meets at 1 p.m. in the Justice Building meeting room, Warsaw, on the first Wednesday of every month.
