CLARKSVILLE — After more than a month of collecting public comments, the Ohio River Scenic Byway Committee voted Monday to designate a portion of Ind. 265 as a scenic byway.
Whether to connect the section of highway, which stretches from the Lewis and Clark Bridge to the Ind. 265 and Ind. 62 exchange, to the longer Ohio River Scenic Byway has been weighed since March 5. At that time, the committee explained that the application was submitted by the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency. If the designation was granted, the biggest change along the highway would be the addition of billboards that had previously been approved. If any of the standing billboards were to be destroyed, they could not be rebuilt.
Petitions are a source of contention between Utica, River Ridge and Jeffersonville. Utica successfully defended itself in a lawsuit brought by the City of Jeffersonville. The lawsuit alleged Utica officials never completed the process of annexing from Jeffersonville the land on which the billboards were built. River Ridge also filed a lawsuit against the town for not following its own zoning ordinances when approving the billboards. A decision has not been made in the River Ridge lawsuit.
Some spoke against the scenic byway designation during that initial meeting. Hank Dorman, of the Utica Town Board and Planning and Zoning Board, said town officials had been left out of the conversation even though the highway runs through their territory while officials from River Ridge and Jeffersonville had been welcome at the table. Attorney Mike Maschmeyer also said at the meeting that landowners were concerned about their property rights.
The committee tabled the vote on March 5 so it could collect public comments.
According to Scott Manning, media contact for the committee, more than 27 individuals submitted comments to the committee since then via a website and the U.S. Postal Service. Included in that, Manning said, was a petition with around 160 signatures in favor of the designation.
On Monday, around 12 more people spoke in front of the committee, Manning said. The majority, though not all, also were in favor of the designation. According to Manning, Maschmeyer attended the Monday meeting and again asked the board to table the vote.