The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/934377
C-10 East Gibson News Wednesday, Januar y 31, 2018 The Press-Dispatch asked whether Lochmu- eller was being paid to at- tend, and whether the state- ment amounted to someone agreeing with an employer. Feutz and Schopmeyer both refuted that statement, with Feutz saying as an em- ployer, his employees disa- gree with him at times. "It's up to us to decide if that's good enough or not," Feutz said of the 2009 plan. Addressing drainage was deleted from the plan and left to drainage boards. The plan currently includes no building code, Schopmey- er said. The guests brought in to inform the board on zoning were Mark and Bob Seib, (only distantly related, they said.) Mark Seib is the chair of the Posey County Planning Commission, while Bob Seib is a member of the Haubstadt Planning Commission, and became a board member in 2006. He has 35 years stra- tegic planning experience and is an engineer by trade, he said. "I'm not here to tell you what to do, I'm here to tell you what we do," said the Posey County representa- tive. He said zoning in Posey County started in 1974, when a large trash dump wanted to come to Posey County. "That got people riled up," Mark Seib told the crowd, and it inspired their zoning plan. In Posey County, most approvals from the zoning board are a matter of the landowner going into the office, meeting certain cri- teria and walking out per- mitted to do what they like. When there is something that's an exception, it goes to the zoning board, which meets about once a month, and makes changes four to five times a year, and the person requests a waiver of the rules. Most requests are people who ask that the set- back rules be waived to al- low them to build closer to their neighbor's property. Neighbors are notified and if they do not object, permission is usually grant- ed. If a person wants zoning on an area to go, say, from manufacturing to agricul- ture, then they have to go before the planning com- mission, which has a two- phase process to make sure that's what the public wants to do. Experts recommend the zoning map is redone every 10 years, though their first plan went 15 years before its revision, he said. Posey County generally applies for and receives grants to up- date the zoning plan based on population income stud- ies. The Posey County zon- ing office has a two-person staff, he said, and it does take money to operate— he didn't have the figure on hand. According to Schopmey- er, Warrick County spends approximately $143,000 per year. The goal of planning commissions, however, is to eventually fund themselves with the fees they generate. Haubstadt's Bob Seib said that in Haubstadt, they built right-to-farming language into their code and were unique in having a zoning board that is both town and township based—essential- ly being for both incorporat- ed and unincorporated are- as. In their draft, anyone moving into an agricultur- al district gets a notice that certain things they might consider nuisances are ac- ceptable practice, and that if they choose to buy land in an ag district, those nui- sances are "buyer beware." Haubstadt also waives all fees for construction that has agricultural purposes, he said, and incorporated "conveyance" language that clears the way to pass farm land on to children. Haubstadt requires a hearing before installation of a confined feeding op- eration, however. Costs in Haubstadt are covered by permit fees. He said the planning commission and the board of zoning appeals provide a checks-and-balances sys- tem since they split town and country interests. Commissioner Stephen Bottoms asked the guests if either Haubstadt or Posey had ever had a serious move to revoke zoning after it was in place, and they said they had not. "You basically want to do it right when you do it, if you do it," Mark Seib said. Chairman Feutz asked if the men thought that zoning had put undue burdens on the people it applied to. The Posey County ex- pert said that the process for people building a home or shed on their property is that they don't initially know they need to do it, but when finished, they seem to un- derstand why. He said the county had seen industry try to come into the wrong districts, but zoning worked to keep it in the designated places. "I'm pretty big on mak- ing sure my rights are held," said Mark Seib. "The bot- tom line is, if you don't have it, you have anything that comes your way." Bob Seib said he felt in Haubstadt that neighbors appreciated being informed of what was coming to their area in advance. "Otherwise it can just happen as a private trans- action until ground is bro- ken," he said. He estimated 90 percent of requests have been approved. The board requested pub- lic comment be limited to people who have not spo- ken before. Dr. Terry Gehlhausen was first to the mic, and he said he'd been motivated, as an Oakland City land own- er, to educate himself and review zoning. "We've tried to be good stewards," he said, telling the story of how he and his wife, eco-tourists and na- ture lovers, spent a decade protesting I-69. Now, he said, it's the route they use to visit his son and grand- son. Likewise, he originally wanted to oppose zoning. "I thought because I bought the land, I should be able to do what I want to with it," he said. But he asked himself, in light of the road, about whether zoning was pro- gress. He said he and his wife enjoy Patoka Lake, and he wondered how the peo- ple who formerly owned the land felt when they had to sell it for the public to have the facility. "Poor planning can lead to more adverse social in- teractions," Gehlhausen said, pointing to the location of Evansville's North High School as an example. "Therefore I've opted to support zoning," he said. Local Tom White asked each member of the board to talk about how much land they owned, then thanked them for the majority of the board being from the coun- try. He wanted to know whose idea it was to zone. "It's going to be just like the plague," White said, and added that if Farm Bureau supported zoning, he would not be a member. Feutz, who is on the Farm Bureau board, said his posi- tion on the APC was as a citi- zen, not necessarily in direct relation to his position with the bureau. "Farm Bureau has not pushed anything," Feutz said. "Farm Bureau said it would support zoning if zoning would support agri- culture." Farm Bureau did help draft what Mike Schopmey- er had previously called the farm-friendly aspects of the ordinance, Schopmeyer had told the Star Times in a De- cember meeting. Those were parts of the ordinance he said were meant to pro- tect farmers, for example, when people moved into their area and complained about livestock or when the farmers wanted to scale up their operations. Rena Schleter, of the Snake Run area, asked board members to "think long and hard...an ordinance of this magnitude should be given much more time." She encouraged that however they made the de- cision—be it by gauging public input, thinking on it themselves, or praying about the decision—to not be haphazard in the choice. "Whatever your choice is, make the changes needed on this ordinance," she said. Wendy Byrns, of Owens- ville, said after attending two meetings, the talk about zoning made her feel she lives in a communist coun- try. Feutz asked why and said they had made no decision. Byrns said she felt the board was going forward despite public opinion. "I highly recommend you have a hearing test so you can hear the 'no' in no zoning," she said, describ- ing that she wanted to build what she wanted on her property without going through zoning. Some against zoning have hired attorney Grant Schwartzentruber to speak on their behalf. "Take your time and get it right," he said was his mes- sage from the clients. He brought minutes from the 2009 commissioners' meeting, where the compre- hensive plan that the current ordinance is based upon was first introduced. At that time, board members included Bob Townsend, Gerald Bledsoe and Don Whitehead. In the June meeting, the minutes say Whitehead asked about the compre- hensive plan meetings, and was assured the meetings would not be the first steps in county-wide zoning. Com- missioners Whitehead and Bledsoe were both listed as being against zoning in those minutes. Of those three, only Bled- soe is still a county commis- sioner—he serves South Gibson. The board has since changed members, and the previous administration's opposition, Schopmeyer said, does not affect the va- lidity of the 2009 plan as a basis for a zoning ordinance. The volley of arguments between the two attorneys escalated as Schwartzentru- ber contended that the cur- rent planning commission did not draft the plan, as he said they were required to, and he specifically request- ed a motion from the com- mission to table the current plan. He said he and his cli- ents are prepared to file an injunction against the board if zoning moves forward. "It's in the Indiana code, that is your duty," Schwartz- entruber said. Schopmeyer advised against the board enter- taining Schwartzentruber's motion, saying the board did not have to be the body that drafted the first zoning pro- posal. When Schwartzentru- ber tried to refute, he was stopped. "You've had your time at the podium," said Schop- meyer. "We can speak about this off the record, but that's not true," the dissenting attor- ney contested. "You had your time," Schopmeyer said. "Let him speak," said someone in the audience. "No," Schopmeyer said, adding it was "inappropriate and unnecessary" for an op- posing council to suggest a motion, and said Schwartz- entruber was "grandstand- ing" and delivering a "dia- tribe." Meanwhile, the board has scheduled meetings that Feutz originally called three-person subcommit- tees with the purpose of ex- ploring specific pieces of the zoning ordinance, which Schopmeyer said would be held in executive sessions at 3 p.m. Jan. 30, at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 6, and at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at McDonald Law Office in Princeton. Later, Schopmeyer emailed members of the press to say that the word subcommittee was a mis- statement, and that the meeting would be to dis- cuss the pending litigation of Schwartzentruber and to receive legal advice on the Gibson County Land Use Ordinance. He said the meetings should not be subject to In- diana's Open Door statutes since there would be no ma- jority of members, and mem- bers can meet to receive le- gal advice. Additional clari- ty as to the topic of the meet- ings has been requested to further explore whether it is subject to the statute. The next public meeting of the APC is set for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Toyo- ta Events Center at Gib- son County Fairgrounds in Princeton. Another public meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. March 7 tentatively at Oakland City Wirth Park building. ZONING Continued from page 9 Precision starts with the meter. Head to the field with confidence knowing yours has been inspected annually by the dealer that specializes in your planter. Schedule your inspection today! We now have the capability to run ANY brand of meter! www.BLESCHBROS.com www.BLESCHBROSODON.com 8250 E SR 58, ODON 812-636-4050 WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL! Equipment Company Spring 2018 Kinze Parts Sale • Jan. 2–Feb. 28 PLUS: Receive an ADDITIONAL 10% OFF these parts during our February Parts Discount Week • Feb. 19–24! HWY 161, HOLLAND 812-536-3486 STOCK UP and SAVE BIG! Contact our service department to schedule a PRE-SEASON PLANTER INSPECTION FIELD READY? Start with your KINZE Planter Experts! 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