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Steve Snyder, lawyer, came before the Board of Kosciusko County Commissioners Tuesday to request a rezoning on property inside Plain Township and near Chapman Lake.
Snyder, representing Sam Carns, requested that 18 acres of property near CR 300E be rezoned to agricultural II or residential zoning. The property is currently agricultural.
"We are dealing with an area that is expanding rapidly and is servicing the city of Warsaw," Snyder said. "This land needs to be considered for its best use just like other lots around Chapman."
Open Bible Baptist Church currently owns the property, and desires to sell the land. By rezoning the lot, potential buyers would be given the ability to develop residential subdivisions on the lot.
Dan Richards, Kosciusko County Area Plan director, reported that the county plan commission voted to decline the request by a 6-1 majority.
More than 20 residents of the surrounding Chapman Lake area were in attendance to oppose the request, including Dan Lee of the Chapman Lake Conservation Association.
Lee said that erosion and sediment runoff was currently a major problem for Chapman Lake, and that the potential construction would do nothing but increase difficulties.
"There is no mechanism in the county to control sediment and erosion damage during construction," Lee said. "With no erosion control ordinance or the staff to enforce it, I have not seen construction that would not harm what we're trying to protect."
The Chapman Lake Conservation Association collected information on the water quality, roadside drain activity and lake pollution problems on the lake. Lee asked the board to look at the results before making a decision on the rezoning.
"We've developed the data, and we try to keep the lake suitable for those who will follow us," Lee said. "We want to keep the lake in a condition so that it will be there for our grandchildren and our grandchildren's children."
Lee also said that runoff caused vegetation and nutrients to collect in the lake, causing the water to lose visibility and become cloudy. Due to cloudy lake waters, property values along the shorelines could decrease as much as 15 percent.
Including Lee, a total of seven people came before the board in opposition.
"I just hate to see all the good work we've all done to keep the lake clean go to waste," homeowner Kate Beyer said.
In his rebuttal, Snyder claimed that erosion damage to the lake could be prevented.
"Every bit of water drains somewhere. I hear complaints about erosion, but I hear no complaints about housing the erosion," Snyder said. "We have an opportunity to prevent the current erosion problem with proper septic tanks."
After hearing from both sides, the board agreed to table the decision and scheduled to address the matter again Sept. 6.
"In the spirit of caution, I'd like to talk to the county surveyor and public health officials before we decide. I'm not opposed to farming or housing, I just want to make the right decision for the community," commissioner Ron Truex said.
