Land
Use Planning, Zoning
for Pulaski County What is the status?
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Working to preserve
rural nature of communities
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Work
progresses on comprehensive plan
By Karen Clem Fritz
One year ago, the Pulaski County Commissioners
took a long-awaited step toward land use planning and zoning in the
county when it established a county plan commission.
The new commission was charged with developing a comprehensive land
use plan and zoning ordinances, in accordance with state guidelines,
to present to the commissioners for their approval within two years.
The effort to develop a land use plan was spearheaded by the Pulaski
County Community Development Commission, with the support of elected
officials, including many county council members and town board members,
plus business, industrial and agricultural leaders, developers, and
health department and school officials who had expressed their desire
for county planning and zoning.
For over 40 years, Pulaski County had a long and agonized history involving
various attempts to draw up a comprehensive land use plan to guide its
future development. But in recent years, local residents appear to have
reached the understanding that land use planning is a vital means of
protecting their own property values, and more importantly, enhancing
the local economy and preserving the rural nature of the communities.
Pulaski County is the only remaining county in the northern half of
Indiana without county-wide planning and zoning. Residents, business
owners, farmers and county economic developers have come to realize
this leaves the county very vulnerable.
Work Progresses on Plan
The new nine-member plan commission meets on the first Monday of each
month, at 7 p.m., at the courthouse. Meetings are open to the public.
Public Meetings
The Pulaski County Plan Commission will hold a series of meetings
to discuss and receive public comments on the proposed Pulaski
County Comprehensive Plan.
The meetings are scheduled at four locations throughout the
county. All meetings will begin at 7 p.m. They will take place
at the following locations and dates:
•Tuesday, April 22, at the Monterey Community Building.
•Tuesday, April 29, at West Central High School.
•Tuesday, May 13, at the Star City Community Building.
•Tuesday, May 20, at the County Highway Garage, Winamac.
Rhein-Bach Engineering of South Bend will make a short presentation
of the comprehensive planning process at each meeting which
will then be opened up for public input.
Interested citizens are encouraged to attend one of these meetings.
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“We have a good cross-section of members, and I’m pleased
with our progress,” says Steve Seifert, a retired community planner
who heads the commission.
“The meetings have been going fine and have been very educational,”
agrees Extension Educator Mike Reetz who also serves on the commission.
Early on, Seifert says the commission members agreed on two priorities.
They want farmland protection, and they don’t want to over-regulate.
The commission secured a $50,000 grant from the state (with a 10 percent
local match) to hire a consulting firm to help develop the comprehensive
plan which is the first step in the land use process. The engineering
firm of Rhein Bach Inc. of South Bend was selected.
While this process continues, the commission has been studying zoning
ordinances. They will also develop a housing sub-division package and
a zoning map.
“A majority of the county will be zoned agricultural,” Seifert
says. Reetz has offered the possibility of a more extensive protection
for farm land, known as “exclusive ag (EA)” zones which would
put greater restrictions on development. For instance, to build a home
in an EA zone might require a 40- to 80-acre lot. The plan commission
would not designate these EA zones, but rather they would be requested
by the farmer.
The commission seeks to facilitate future growth in Pulaski County in
an orderly fashion.
“Ideally this growth will be centered around existing towns,”
Seifert says. The commission has already received resolutions from Medaryville
and Monterey asking to participate in the comprehensive plan.
The public will have opportunities to participate in the process in
two ways in the coming weeks. A series of public meetings throughout
the county will begin on Tuesday in Monterey (see accompanying box).
Secondly, a questionnaire will be distributed to residents through the
mail next month.
The plan commission expects to complete a draft of the comprehensive
land use plan in six months. Then a public hearing will be held. Eventually,
the commission will present the plan and the zoning ordinances to the
commissioners who may reject, amend or approve the package.
Click
here
to read the first story in this ExPRESS
series: Not in My Back Yard!
Click
here
to read the follow-up story in this ExPRESS
series: First Step Approved
Feedback on this issue may be directed to the CDC
office at (phone) 574-946-3869,
(fax) 574-946-3852 or (email) ddolezal@pulaskionline.org
Comments may also be directed to ExPRESS by email at express@pulaskicountyexpress.com
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