By JONATHAN SNYDER
A business rezoning petition for a 5,000-square-foot structure at 10350 North State Road 1 in Ossian has been given a “do pass” recommendation with conditions from the Wells County Area Plan Commission.
The issue now moves to the Wells County Commissioners, who, if approved, would change the area from a residential to a business-three zone. Jason and Casandra Meyer of Meyer Renovation will then create a development plan for the site, set to be the new storefront for their business.
The rezoning discussion took the majority of the three-hour meeting on Thursday. The building on the property will be used for a garage and storage area, a business showroom and residential use. Area Plan Commission Executive Director Mike Lautzenheiser noted that a special exemption would have to be made to the Board of Zoning Appeals to keep the residential portion.
Since the area resides next to solely residential homes, there were many concerns about the rezoning. Meyer presented a study that showed multiple other businesses near the region, such as Lighted Gardens and Dollar General, carry no dramatic changes in residential property values.
The board also had some concerns about a septic holding tank potentially near a community well. Meyer said he was sure he had a permit from the Health Department before the meeting. Commissioner Jarrod Hahn warned him that the email received was likely the department notifying him of what needed to be done rather than a permit. Meyer stated he would look into the email after the meeting.
“That community well is going to be a problem,” Hahn said.
There were several public comments about the issue from concerned neighbors.
Mike Fancher, who lives across the street, brought up three concerns: the lighting from the building shines directly into his home at night, the adjacent property sits six inches higher potentially causing flood problems, and the zone could bring all sorts of unknown business types to that zone. Meyer advised he was willing to fix the lighting issue.
Orville Hilsmeir Jr., Emily Grover, Michele Pulfer and Judy Kaehr also shared concerns about the property, including natural septic flow, the use of dumpsters in the area, the location of the business and different issues in construction.
The APC’s overall opinion was that the concerns were valid and would be addressed by the requirements of B-3 zones, which include attaching a development plan. As such, the APC unanimously approved the “do pass” recommendation with the following conditions: Meyer must file for a Health Department permit within 30 days; Meyer’s development plan must address any lighting, sewage, drainage and buffer issues; and Meyer Renovation, Meyer Removal or similar businesses are the only entities that can be in this zone.
“If we have the right stipulations and create the right things, this won’t just put a band-aid on this (issue) but stitch it up the right way,” Commissioner Tyson Brooks said.
Additionally, the APC approved a request for an eight-lot major subdivision on 300 East at Wayne Street south of State Road 116. This subdivision will be for housing developments and will be accessible by a shared private drive. Water for the lots will be drawn from community wells instead of city water. FIT Development LLC owners Todd Fiechter and Aaron Isch stated that hooking up to city water was not economically feasible.
Isch further clarified that the north half of the subdivision will still be farmland. Kent Shady of Bluffton expressed concern that Markley Ditch, a runoff area near the subdivision, would not be able to handle the added stress of the new developments. Shady stated that part of his backyard is in a floodplain area. He also expressed concern that the development had no plans to annex into the city of Bluffton.
Hahn noted that a detention pond will be on the property, which forces the water to have a longer holding time before it goes into a system. He explained that they are also sizing the detention pond larger than necessary for the planned eight lots, just in case the owners want to put more housing on that parcel.
Board member Josh Hunt, substituting for Chandler Gerber, stated that neither the city nor the owners could force annexation due to protections against cities taking in undeveloped areas. Lautzenheiser further noted that details for sewer lines will be determined during the development process.
Furthermore, the APC gave a rezoning request at 328 South Union St. a “do pass” recommendation to the Bluffton Common Council. This would switch the area from a residential-three zone to a residential-two zone. The zoning would restrict the area to only have two or single-family dwellings.
Owner Drew Gerber said he plans to install a tri-plex instead of a duplex. The area is currently an open lot due to a past single-family home being demolished. He stated that parking for the apartments will be accessed by a shared drive that goes into individual driveways. He hopes to have at least two cars per unit.
The APC also cleared one violation for Shane and Kristi Anderson. They allowed their in-laws to reside in their RV and because they lived in the area for over 90 consecutive days, a violation was filed. Since then, the in-laws have spent time away from the area, and because they broke the 90-day streak, the violation was cleared.
All board members were present on Thursday.
jonathan@news-banner.com
