GREENFIELD — Hancock County Area Planning Commission unanimously voted to refuse to give a favorable recommendation to a petitioner seeking rezoning for the purpose of a new business.

The issue was discussed at length during the planning commission meeting Tuesday at Hancock County Courthouse Annex.

An engineer representing the current landowners and the potential business developer wanted to change 14 acres at 7015 W. County Road 350N from Industrial Business Park (IBP) to Industrial General (IG) for the purpose of adding a semitractor-trailer parking facility.

The site, Planning Commission Director Kayla Brooks told the commission, is located about one mile north of the Mt. Comfort Corridor. Before the presentation and vote Brooks noted the measure would have to go through the county Board of Zoning Appeals before any kind of permit would be issued. However, she stated the idea was one the county’s comprehensive plan could support.

“This does meet the lot standards for IG as far as lot standards for IG go,” Brooks said. “In this case, this is one of those last little segments of land that has kind of been left on that intensely developed corner… All the surrounding area around it is already developed as warehouses.”

Chris Badger of Badger Engineering in Carmel represents the company wanting to purchase the land. He implored the commission to pass the measure, noting there was a need for semitractor-trailer drivers to have a place to park their trucks.

“I think it’s pretty decent layout, and it’s a good place for trucking because it’s in the midst of all the warehouses,” Badger said. “It’s fairly close to the interstate. The owner used to be a trucker, too, so I know he’s really interested in this.”

The idea, however, hit sour with several neighbors who spoke on the issue and asked the commission to deny the request.

Sandra Hudson lives a mile north of the proposed development and told the commission there was already a parking lot for semis in the area, just across the street from her home, and she did not want to see another one added to the community.

“That one is going to hold 273 (semitractor-trailer) slots, so this would be another one just south of us, and I think that is just too much for this area,” Hudson said. “(CR) 700 West is pretty much mixed use because on the westside there is a residential area, and it does concern me we would be having another truck parking lot on 700 West, so I am very concerned about that.”

Hudson noted the requested zoning is actually two notches away from what the area is supposed to be developed as (IBP).

“So to me this just does not seem very compatible to the area,” Hudson said. “Clearly a semi-truck parking area is not very pleasing to the eye.”

Another resident in the area, Larry Sedam, also spoke against the measure and talked with the commission about how tight the roads are in the area.

“(CR 700 West) is not designed for turning onto that road from 300 or 350 — the warehouses are there but the roads are not,” Sedam said. “I don’t think this will help putting more traffic and more trucks in there.”

County resident Leah Lederman also spoke and told the commission she was firmly against approving the zoning measure and noted some of the warehouses built in the area are unoccupied after being approved by the commission.

“So, not only do we have empty warehouses, we have projects being voted through or have had projects voted through, that didn’t even happen,” Lederman said. “We already have a history of oversaturation in that area; there is already a semi-trailer parking lot — this is warehouse alley, unfortunately, but people do live there. People are stuck there, frankly, so we’re trying to make things less miserable and safer.”

Commissioner Gary McDaniel, who is on the planning commission, did not mince words. “Every one of those buildings out there, they should house their own trailers,” he said. “They knew they would be bringing trailers (semis), so they don’t need to build a parking lot somewhere else.”

During rebuttal time, Badger told the commission he too thinks CR 700 West and other roads in the area need to be upgraded, but other than that, he said the developer would be the best neighbor it could be.

“We’re trying to go through all the right ways, get the zoning, get the special exception, get the development plan and then get the construction,” Badger said. “We’ve got somebody who is willing to do what needs to get done to build this.”

In the end the full commission was not swayed by Badger’s plea and unanimously voted against a favorable recommendation to change the zoning.

“We’re not having corporations or companies coming to us saying ‘we need truck parking,’” Commission Secretary Renee Oldham said.

The nonfavorable recommendation heads to the county commissioners in late March. As the meeting was breaking up, Brooks told Badger if he wanted, they could work to get him on that agenda to discuss the measure with the three-member governing body.
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