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Thursday, July 26, 2007
Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals rules in Whitestown annexation battle
Robert Annis of the Indianapolis Star reports today on the Indiana Court of Appeals ruling last Friday, July 20th, in the case of Brenwick Associates, et al. v. Boone County Redevelopment, et al. (see ILB entry here). Some quotes:
The Indiana Court of Appeals issued a ruling Friday that partially resolves a land dispute betweeen the Whitestown Town Council and the Boone County Commissioners over a prime corridor in the county.
The dispute between the two entities involves nearly 4,000 acres on the west side of I-65 in Boone County that was annexed by Whitestown but claimed by the Boone County Redevelopment Commission as an economic development area.The Anson development is on the east side of I-65.
In 2005, First Industrial Acquisitions and Brenwick Associates asked Whitestown to annex 1,425 acres on the west side of I-65 to develop possibly as warehouses. First Industrial planned to purchase property within the area from Brenwick Associates and asked Whitestown to provide tax abatements for a proposed development.
In July 2006, the town began annexation proceedings. Soon after, the redevelopment commission started its own 4,000-acre economic development area that included the same area that Whitestown had begun to annex.
Whitestown amended its original annexation proceedings to include almost 2,500 more acres that made up the bulk of Boone County's EDA and filed suit against Boone County. Boone County argued that because the annexation wasn't completed, it still had jurisdiction over the property.
The appeals court ruled that Whitestown had jurisdiction over the original 1,425 acres since Boone County's EDA was filed after the annexation proceedings began. The court also ruled that Boone County's EDA for the remaining 2,500 acres was still valid.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 26, 2007 08:32 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions