The Vigo County Area Plan Commission approved rezoning of 4151 West National Drive from RS (single-family residential) to R-3 (multifamily residential) to permit rehabilitation of long-term efficiency apartments.

Jared Baylor presented the staff report and said the property “has been used as long term efficiency apartments for many years. A fire caused damage to several of the apartments. The property has sat vacant now for over 18 months. Thus, the legal nonconforming status has been lost.” Baylor said rezoning was intended to allow rehabilitation and reuse.

Attorney Richard Shagley, representing A to Z Rentals LLC, told the commission he represents the property owner and urged approval so developers can rehabilitate the units. Shagley said the petitioner’s “intentions is to remodel these apart these apartments and bring new life to them.”

Staff informed the commission the property currently provides eight parking spaces. For multi-family dwellings, staff cited a requirement of two parking spaces per dwelling unit for the first 50 units and 1.75 spaces for units above 50; the applicant will need eight additional paved spaces plus one ADA-accessible stall. The commission’s recommendation and this approval are conditioned on site-plan submission and Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approvals for a west-side yard setback (a minimum of 15 feet) and any other variances required once the site plan is filed. Baylor said there were remonstrators at the Area Plan Commission hearing.

A motion to approve passed; commissioners recorded “aye.” The transcript does not include a roll-call tally or the exact count of votes.