Boone County APC forwards RL Turner rezoning to commissioners with unfavorable recommendation

At its meeting, the Boone County Area Planning Commission voted 4–1 to forward petition 25CED-16-077 — a request by RL Turner Corporation to rezone an 8.75-acre parcel at 2701 South State Road 39 from agricultural to light industrial — to the Boone County Commissioners with an unfavorable recommendation and several conditions.

The petition would allow RL Turner to build a two‑story office and an attached warehouse totaling about 30,000 square feet (10,000 square feet of office on two floors and roughly 20,000 square feet of warehouse), with 54 parking spaces and an on‑site detention pond. The planning staff recommended an unfavorable recommendation, citing the Boone County comprehensive plan, which designates the area as general agriculture and warns that more intensive industrial uses allowed in the light industrial (I‑1) district could be substantially more intense than surrounding properties.

Staff and outside reviewers flagged requirements the petitioner must meet if the rezoning moves forward. The Indiana Department of Health must review any commercial on‑site sewage disposal plan before a local permit is issued, the county surveyor said development must meet the Boone County drainage ordinance and provide an adequate outlet for the proposed detention basin (side ditches are not an acceptable outlet), and driveway permits for the site on State Road 39 would be issued by the Indiana Department of Transportation. The technical advisory committee, soil and water conservation district, and the highway department provided the comments summarized in the staff report.

Petitioner presentation and voluntary commitments

Kent France, attorney for RL Turner Corporation, and company representatives described the firm as a long‑standing Boone County contractor seeking to relocate from a smaller Zionsville site. France and company representatives said the firm plans a single‑user headquarters and warehouse and offered draft voluntary commitments: limit the site's use to the petitioner’s contractor headquarters and inside storage only; no outside storage; no electronic signage; buffering and landscaping (including mounding) along State Road 39; fencing around the detention pond; and a time limit after which zoning would revert to agricultural if no building permit is obtained. France said the company would refine those commitments as requested during the development plan process.

Public comment and concerns

More than a dozen residents spoke during the public comment period, expressing opposition focused on farmland loss, precedent for more rezoning, drainage and flooding risks, traffic safety on State Road 39, fire protection and water supply for a larger commercial structure, and night lighting and noise. Resident Chester Carl said, “I ask the planning commission to deny this petition.” Lisonbee Haley, who lives across the street from the site, said, “We just don't want our farmland destroyed,” and cited a petition she and neighbors circulated opposing the rezoning. Several speakers raised specific drainage concerns at and north of the parcel and said local crossings and bridges already face heavier truck traffic.

Board discussion and vote

Commissioners and members divided along planning‑policy and pragmatic lines. Several members referenced the comprehensive plan’s general‑agriculture designation and warned about spot zoning and setting a precedent for more industrial development along the highway corridor. Others noted RL Turner’s long local history and the company’s voluntary commitments and said infrastructure requirements tied to development approvals (drainage, road access, fire protection) would be addressed during later permitting.

The commission’s motion — to forward petition 25CED‑16‑077 to the Boone County Commissioners with an unfavorable recommendation while including the staff conditions and the petitioner’s commitments — passed 4–1. The conditions read into the record and appended to the recommendation were: require technical comments to be addressed during development plan and building permit review; restrict future allowable uses on the lot to those proposed by the petitioner (i.e., prohibit the broader range of I‑1 uses); and automatically revert the zoning to agriculture if a building permit is not obtained within one year of a positive rezoning decision by the county commissioners. The vote met the commission’s stated threshold: four affirmative votes are required to carry a recommendation to the county commissioners.

What happens next

The commission’s unfavorable recommendation and attached conditions will be transmitted to the Boone County Commissioners, who make the final decision after their own public hearing. If the commissioners approve a rezoning, later development approvals will require the petitioner to meet drainage, septic/well, access and building code requirements called out by county staff and state reviewers. The petitioner said it intends to continue working with neighbors and county staff on final site design and infrastructure requirements.

Ending

No final decision on the rezoning was made by the commissioners at this meeting; the APC’s action was limited to a recommendation. The petition and the commission’s record will be included in the agenda packet for the county commissioners’ next public hearing on the matter.