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Thursday, November 18, 2004

Indiana Law - Rezoning farmland in St. Joseph County

"Panel frowns on farmland rezoning: Neighbors relieved; request now goes before County Council" is the headline to this story today in the South Bend Tribune. Some quotes:

Lori Kimmel has lived in New Carlisle her entire life. She grew up on the privacy of a 50-year-old family-owned farm on the Chicago Trail. And the family enjoys the solitude the land offers.

So when Dennis A. Hancz proposed to rezone 81 acres of the land from agricultural to residential to allow for a single-family residential subdivision, Kimmel's family, along with many area residents, became upset.

"I would like to see the farmland in our area preserved as farmland," Kimmel said. Kimmel took it upon herself to let area residents know about the proposal and started a petition to oppose it.

Nancy VanWanzeele was one of the residents opposed to the plan. VanWanzeele and her family have lived on a dairy and grain farm in the area since 1956, and for many reasons they are worried about a subdivision going up in the area.

"We're really concerned about what would happen with our future income," VanWanzeele said. "And if people think they don't like the smell of our dairy cows, we could be in big trouble." * * *

The St. Joseph County Area Plan Commission apparently had some of the same concerns when it gave the proposal an unfavorable recommendation at Tuesday's public hearing. * * *

The proposal will be brought before the St. Joseph County Council at its 7 p.m. Dec. 7 meeting at the County- City Building in South Bend.

Farmland preservation was the title of an April 8, 2004 Indiana Law Blog entry that references a number of sources.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 18, 2004 12:49 PM
Posted to Indiana Law