By DAVE SCHULTZ
The Wells County Commissioners, during an upcoming meeting, will be asked to consider a rezoning request for property on County Road 600N east of 200W. That request will come with a “do not pass” recommendation from the Wells County Area Plan Commission.
The APC members voted 9-0 on June 2 (two members were absent) to turn down a request from Justin Miller to place the entire land parcel in question into an I-2 (industrial) zoning district. The parcel is party zoned I-2 at this time; the request was to change the parts now zoned I-1 into I-2, which will allow for more intensive uses — particularly, Miller said, for a junk yard.
The property was previously owned by the late Tom Coffield, who operated Coffield Salvage and Recycling at the site. The current owner, who officially filed the rezoning request, is Coffield’s sister, Janet Six of Bryan, Ohio.
Miller owns a shop in Decatur where he recycles automobiles. Rezoning the site west of Uniondale, he said, would allow him to hold onto vehicles for a longer amount of time. He said it would be used primarily as a storage facility.
He understood that Coffield had problems with regulators and neighbors. The use of the property as a junkyard was grandfathered in because it was used in that manner before zoning regulations were put in place.
Miller said his operation would be different.
“I am not Tom,” Miller told the APC. “I don’t do things like Tom. Some of the things Tom did I didn’t agree with.”
Miller said he would not crush cars at the site and that the facility will not be in operation all night.
Several neighbors spoke against the petition on June 2. Their opposition centered on quality of life issues.
The paperwork on the matter included a letter from former State Rep. Jeff Espich, a resident of Uniondale. Espich’s letter noted that Coffield’s stewardship of the property may not have been perfect, “but he solved other people’s problems” with debris and pollution
“It appears nothing good has happened on these parcels since Tom relinquished ownership to Janet Six,” Espich’s letter said. “Now, a rezoning petition (would) compound misery. The answer should be a rejection of the petition.”
If the rezoning petition were to be approved, Espich said, several environmental safeguards should be put in place
The APC’s role in a rezoning request is to advise the governing body — in this case, the county commissioners — as to how to handle the request, The commissioners, therefore, will have the final say.
When Jerome Markley, the APC’s president, asked for a motion on the group’s recommendation — do pass, do not pass, or no recommendation — it was quickly moved and seconded that a “do not pass” recommendation be attached to the petition. The nine commission members present all voted in favor of the “do not pass” recommendation.
daves@news-banner.com
