Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Elkhart Plan Commission elects officers and reappoints plat committee; BZA vacancy remains open
Summary
The Plan Commission elected Tory Irwin as president, Aaron Mishler as vice president and Chris Baker as secretary, reappointed three members to the plat committee, and debated filling a vacancy on the Board of Zoning Appeals before adopting a rotating quarterly appointment plan for four commissioners.
At its Feb. 3 meeting, the Elkhart Plan Commission completed election of 2025 officers and renewed key committee appointments.
Tory Irwin was nominated and elected president by roll-call vote. Aaron Mishler was elected vice president and Chris Baker was elected secretary. The commission then reappointed the three-member plat committee — Jeff Schafer, Tory Irwin and Eric Trotter — consistent with the committee’s composition requirements (one plan-commission member serving as chair, one city engineering representative, and one planning-and-development representative).
Commissioners discussed an outstanding vacancy for the commission’s appointment to the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). Several commissioners indicated that some members were ineligible because of other appointments; no nomination was secured during the first discussion and the commission recessed briefly to consult internally. When the meeting resumed, commissioners approved a rotating quarterly schedule of four commissioners to serve as the commission’s BZA representative on a rotating basis. The approved rotating quartet was Newbill, Beecher, Lawson and Osborne; roll-call voting recorded one No vote (Newbill) and the rest in favor.
Carla conducted roll-call votes for officer elections and committee appointments. Commissioners congratulated the new officers and renewed the plat committee appointments for 2025.
The commission discussed whether remote participation should be permitted for BZA service when members are out of state; staff said the commission would seek clarification and recommend that the BZA consider rules allowing limited remote participation for voting.
