By JOHN KLINE
john.kline@goshennews.com
May 09, 2008 11:58 am
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An agricultural statement to warn property purchasers of the potential for noise and odors is to be incorporated in a new Elkhart County subdivision control ordinance.
Agriculture and farmland were among the main points discussed by members of the Elkhart County Plan Commission Thursday during a review session on the county’s updated subdivision ordinance.
The session was a continuation of a nearly four-hour work session held by commission members last Thursday during which nearly every aspect of the nearly 70-page ordinance was scrutinized.
According to Bob Watkins, county plan director for the county, the proposed agricultural statement would be designed to alert those who may be in the market to purchase a subdivision lot in an agricultural area to exactly what situations they may encounter on a daily basis because of that decision.
“This is just kind of a warning, to let people know that this could happen,” said commission attorney James Kolbus.
The proposed statement, which takes its core from the Indiana Right to Farm Act, reads as follows:
“It is the policy of the state of Indiana to conserve, protect, and encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural land for the production of food and other agricultural products. The lots in this subdivision are near agricultural properties or agricultural operations or included within an area zoned for agricultural purposes, and may be subject to inconveniences or discomfort arising from such operations.
“Such discomfort or inconveniences may include, but are not limited to: Noise, odor, fumes, dust, smoke, inspections, operation of machinery (including aircraft) at any time and throughout any 24 hour period, storage and disposal of manure, and the application by spraying or otherwise of chemical fertilizers, soil amendments, herbicides and pesticides.
“One or more inconveniences described may occur as a result of any agricultural operation that conforms to existing laws and regulations and with generally accepted customs and standards. Lot owners in this subdivision should be prepared to accept such inconveniences or discomfort as a normal and necessary aspect of living in an agricultural area.”
After reviewing the proposed statement, commission members chose to add the statement to the current draft of the subdivision ordinance, which is expected to go before a public hearing for final review sometime in July.
In the meantime, commission member Tom Holt made the recommendation that several less formal public input meetings be held around the county to gauge peoples’ opinions on the current draft of the ordinance, to which the rest of the commission agreed.
After discussing which areas of the county they felt would be most appropriate for such meetings, the commission eventually decided on the areas of Dunlap, New Paris, Wakarusa and Middlebury.
Exact dates for the public input meetings have not yet been set, but are expected to be finalized by the commission’s June 4 meeting.
The county’s original subdivision ordinance, established nearly half a century ago, essentially laid down the law regarding how developers could build on and subdivide undeveloped land in the unincorporated areas of Elkhart County.
Issues including landscaping, exemptions, acreage and common use areas have also been examined in previous meetings.
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