BANI Newsletter- February 2010

A version of the following article appears in "The Higher Standard," the newsletter for the Builders Association of Northeast Indiana. www.ba-ni.com.

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Traditional planning/zoning divides the community into different zones. In general, each community will have some variation of agricultural, residential, commercial/business, industrial, and specialty zones. The intent of creating different zones is to reduce negative impacts between uses, for example, to make sure a factory or landfill is not built next to your house.

The Steuben County Zoning Ordinance lists 13 different zoning districts: Agriculture, Environmental Control, Residence-1, Residence-2, Residence-3, Lake Residence, Manufactured Home, Local Business, General Business, Accommodation Business, Light Industry, General Industry, and Wind Energy Conversion Overlay.

Each zoning district has a table of uses which describes what uses are permitted (by right), what uses are special exceptions (permitted after a review to determine if certain criteria are met), and what uses are not permitted. Each zoning district also has developmental standards for things like setbacks, building heights, and coverage areas.

The Steuben County Zone Map, the map showing where the different districts are located, was prepared starting in 1970 and adopted in 1974. Since then, it has been amended many times in many places. Zone changes can be initiated by a couple of methods. They can be started by the Plan Commission or the County Board of Commissioners. They can be started by property owners.

Almost all of the zone changes from 1974 through 2008 were initiated by individual property owners. In the fall of 2008, the Plan Commission Office reviewed the zone maps and made a list of areas that needed rezoning. Most of these zone changes are in areas that have had subdivisions developed since the original maps were prepared. For example, the original zoning was as an agricultural district, but the area has been developed for lake homes.

Rezoning the properties to match the existing use and the future use prevents serious headaches for the property owners. For example, a lot near the lake that is zoned agriculture must meet the (larger) setbacks and (smaller) coverages for agriculture. This can make it difficult to add-on to an existing home or to replace a damaged one.

Zone change petitions are heard by the Plan Commission at a public hearing. They review the petition and evaluate it using the following criteria:
(a) Comprehensive Plan: The Comprehensive Plan and any other applicable, adopted planning studies or reports.
(b) Current Conditions: The current conditions and the character of current structures and uses in each district.
(c) Reasonable Use: The most reasonable use for which the land in each district is adapted.
(d) Property Values: The conservation of property values throughout the planning jurisdiction.
(e) Responsible Growth: Responsible growth and development.

The petition is forwarded to the County Board of Commissioners with a favorable recommendation, an unfavorable recommendation, or no recommendation. The County Commissioners consider the zone change at a public hearing and may enact the zone change.