Competing Senate Zoning Bill

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Bruce Williams

Pam Faerber has again brought to our attention the presence of  Senate Bill 436 which has been proposed to replace Senate Bill 405. SB 436 does not appear to address the specific complaint of residents in our area, namely: the arbitrary reclassification of “agricultural” land to “excess residential” when the use of the land has not changed since the property was purchased by the current owner. This still leaves property owners vulnerable to having their “agricultural” property reclassified with the resulting  huge increase in property tax burden.

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Zoning Bills in State Senate and House

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Bruce Williams

No doubt due to the hard work of Pamela Faerber to make state legislators aware of zoning issues with agricultural land, the State Senate (SB 405) and House (HB 1125) both have introduced bills to address the situation.

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CarDon Development Decision Postponed

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Bruce Williams

The Zionsville Planning Commission has postponed a decision on their recommendation for the senior living community at Cooper Road and Oak Street proposed by CarDon & Associates. According to the Times Sentinel, many changes to the proposed development have been made based on feedback from residents and the town:

  • an acceleration/deceleration lane at the entrance to the development
  • a passing blister on the north side of Oak Street
  • a pathway with an additional 30 foot right of way
  • reduction in the total number of units from 330 to 275

The Zionsville Planning Commission has the issue on the agenda for their February 17th meeting.

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Windhaven and Chickadee Horse Farms

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Bruce Williams

CarDon & Associates has proposed a rezoning of the two horse farms south of Oak Street (old SR 334) and east of 850 E (Cooper Road) from “Rural Residential” to “PUD” in order to construct a senior living facility with assisted living, skilled nursing and rehab centers. If you have any interest either for or against this zoning petition you should attend the Zionsville Plan Commission meeting scheduled for January 20th at 7:00pm at the Zionsville Town Hall in the Beverly Harves room.

Map of proposed development

Map of proposed development

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Indianapolis Star Article on Rezoning

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Bruce Williams

Today’s edition of the Indianapolis Star includes an article detailing the rezoning of “agricultural” property to “excess residential” by their county assessor. Boone County has been particularly affected by this arbitrary rezoning.

Unfortunately, the article implies that the definition of “agricultural” land is ambiguous under the Indiana zoning regulations. Perhaps that is so for other cases, but for the properties in our area that are being “rezoned” there are several specific cases spelled out in the official Indiana “2011 Real Property Assessment Manual and Guidelines“. From Chapter 2,  pages 81-83: Continue reading →

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