County planning commission unanimously approves Unified Development Ordinance
The Unified Development Ordinance is one step closer to becoming part of county law as it was recently approved by the Pulaski County Planning Commission.
The planning commission approved the ordinance with a 7-0 vote with two members absent. Pulaski County Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer said countless hours have been spent reviewing the draft to ensure that everything the commission discussed during the last eight months has been addressed.
The current ordinance the county is following was completed in 2012 and done “in-house” to help save money.
“There were excerpts of it that contradicted each other internally and some things it simply didn’t address,” said Origer. “Even though there are two towns who are zoned by the county, it really wasn’t strong on addressing concerns for future urban growth.”
At the time the current ordinance was created there was not a legal review completed on it. Because of the contradictions and lack of information on certain issues, the community development commission and the planning commission decided that something regarding the zoning ordinance had to change.
“Either somebody was not going to like a decision and find a way to take civil action against the county or we were going to reach a scenario where we just had no idea how the best way to handle it would be,” Origer said.
When referring to the issues that were not addressed in the current zoning ordinance, Origer used the example that it lacks clear guidance if someone wanted to grow an orchard or a vineyard and open a winery.
“Nowhere in the current ordinance does it address where you can and can’t grow crops or have animals other than in a confined operation,” Origer said. “There is always room for dispute and appeals when there is nothing in writing.”
Origer said there were no clear ordinances about mom and pop manufacturing stores that could be in a downtown shop instead of in the industrial park. He used the example that the shop may only manufacture on a small scale and doesn’t need an acre of land in an industrial park.
Tweaks were made but it was soon discovered that the time spent on the changes wasn’t feasible. It was soon decided that an outside company that specializes in rezoning and development ordinances would be worth the expense.
“It is both user friendlier and more flexible in a way that will allow for development but also make sure that it happens responsibly,” Origer said. “We never want to discourage growth, we just want to make sure that when growth occurs it fits the character of the community and doesn’t put an undue burden on any of the utilities or in the case of rural subdivisions, the environment.”
The proposed ordinance offers some restrictions but also flexibility, according to Origer. The current ordinance was supposed to encourage smart growth but it didn’t clearly do that.
It includes regulations for development standards, subdivision standards, and wind energy convergence systems. The development standards include nonresidential and residential design standards, manufactured home park standards, and farmland compatibility standards. Subdivision standards include sidewalks, easements and drainage.
Origer said “zoning” can be a scary word for a lot of people and the ordinance may cause some frustration but it will ensure that any growth “maintains property values, maintains and improves the appearance of the community and makes sure that our local governments don’t end up taking on greater financial burdens on maintaining utility infrastructure than is necessary. It is a win for the taxpayer as property owners and taxpayers at the end of the day.”
As to which towns will follow the proposed ordinance, Monterey and Medaryville have adopted the current county zoning ordinance, while Winamac and Francesville have not. Origer is hopeful that those two towns will consider adopting the new ordinance. The Winamac zoning ordinances were adopted in the ‘90s.
“This new ordinance does a better job of addressing urban issues. We really tailored it with the hope that Winamac would adopt it and if they did so they would not find that there were big question marks,” Origer said.
The ordinance will now go before the commissioners with a planned final approval on Dec. 7, during a regular commissioners’ meeting. Origer said the commissioners have been given electronic and printed versions of the ordinance.
It could go into effect on Jan. 1, 2016, which will give the building department and planning commission a chance to familiarize themselves with it.