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On rezonings, the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission is only a recommending body to the county commissioners, who make the final decision.
Wednesday, the plan commission voted unanimously to recommend denial of Phillip and Dallas Smith's petition to rezone ground from commercial to agricultural. The property is on the south side of CR 500N and 550 feet west of Ind. 13 in Tippecanoe Township. The commissioners will hear the petition March 25 at 9:30 a.m. in the county courthouse.
Dan Richard, plan commission director, told the planning board the four-acre tract has a residence on it already and is in the middle of a 40-acre commercial tract of ground.
Attorney Steve Snyder, representing the Smiths, said the property was formerly the Baker farm but then was bought by the Tinkeys and auctioned off. He said the four acres couldn't be used commercially and the property's "highest and best use" is as an agricultural residence. It has no public sanitary sewer or public water system. The building on the property now is too good to tear down, he said.
"We just don't have any practical use for it except for that use," Snyder said.
Richard said the petitioners could be accommodated with a zoning variance so the property would not have to be rezoned, but it wouldn't be as accommodating as they would like.
Any commercial business that goes east of the property, said plan commission chairman Vic Virgil, would find the agricultural smells detrimental to their business if the property owner puts animals on the property.
"Two words answer this," said plan commission member Charlie Haffner. "Spot zoning."
He said the Smiths bought the property knowing it was commercial and the adjacent property owners bought their land knowing it was commercial. Haffner made a motion to deny and member Norm Lovell seconded it.
In other business, the plan commission:
• Dropped a petition by Bruce Cavell to rezone ground from a residential district to a commercial district. The property is on the south side of CR 500N and 490 feet east of Ind. 13 in Tippecanoe Township.
• Approved the final plat for Smits Estates, an agricultural one-lot subdivision, off Epworth Forest Road.
• Approved the final plat for storage condominiums off Ind. 13. The preliminary plat was approved approximately one month ago. As part of the approval, the petitioner, represented by attorney Steve Snyder, must get a cost estimate from Kosciusko County Highway Superintendent and Engineer Rob Ladson on road right of way improvements and then get a letter of credit for that amount.
• Continued to June De-Cu-Nee Village, Third Addition's preliminary plat for final approval. The property is off a channel of Tippecanoe Lake.
Members of the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission are Vic Virgil, Charlie Haffner, Norm Lovell, Kevin McSherry, Kelly Easterday, Don Arms, Hal Strong, Dick Kemper and Barb Carwile. They meet at 1 p.m. in the county courthouse, Warsaw, on the first Wednesday of every month. All meetings are open to the public.
