Advisory Planning Commission recommends rezoning on Country Club Road to allow three starter homes

The Owen County Advisory Planning Commission voted to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners approve a rezoning for a parcel on Country Club Road so an applicant can build three single-family starter homes.

At a public hearing on application 2024-14, the applicant, Kevin Cooper, identified himself as living at 8871 Drunkards Pike, Gosport. Cooper said the request would rezone the portion of a former commercial parcel south of an existing commercial building to residential so he and his company could build three houses: one that a project manager will occupy and two more for resale or employees. "We separated the the bills on claim freight building off to leave commercial and would like to, rezone the property south of that into residential to put some starter homes," Cooper said.

The commission heard details about lot sizes, utilities and construction plans. Susan (staff member) said the three lots would measure about 0.5 acres for the first two lots and a little over 1 acre for the rear lot, and confirmed each house would need its own well and septic. Cooper described the prototype home as roughly 1,320 square feet with three bedrooms and two baths and said the price range would be in the band he stated during the hearing (recorded in the transcript as "2499" and "2399 to 2799"); he did not specify currency formatting on the record.

Nut graf: The commission's recommendation is advisory; the final decision rests with the county commissioners. The commission framed its review around the county comprehensive plan and statutory notice requirements under Indiana law before forwarding its recommendation.

During the hearing staff confirmed applicable notice procedures and cited state statutes the commission follows when considering rezoning requests. The commission chair reviewed Indiana Code 36-7-6-604 and Indiana Code 36-7-4-605 as the legal framework for holding the public hearing and for certifying a recommendation to the legislative body; notice procedures under Indiana Code 5-3-1 also were cited. The commission received one written objection, which was entered into the record and retained in the planning files; no members of the public appeared for oral comment.

Commission discussion included a request that the corner lot remain commercial, which Cooper said he intends to keep as commercial space for his office and materials. Commissioners and staff confirmed that each future house would require a successful percolation test and a well before construction could proceed. Cooper said they have already built a comparable house on an offsite acre parcel and that soil and water tests there were favorable.

After discussion, a motion to recommend a favorable zoning change to the county commissioners was made and seconded. The commission voted unanimously to forward a favorable recommendation for application 2024-14 to the Board of County Commissioners.

Votes at a glance - Reorganization (president): Motion to appoint Norm Warner as president (mover/second not specified in transcript). Outcome: approved; vote counts not specified in the record. - Reorganization (vice president): Motion and second to appoint Donna McIntyre as vice president. Outcome: approved (commission recorded as "all in favor" with six present). - Approval of minutes (Dec. 17, 2024): Motion to approve minutes moved by Kenneth Sebastian; seconded (second speaker not explicitly named). Outcome: approved; tally recorded in meeting as 4 yes, 0 no, 2 abstain. - Rezoning recommendation (Application 2024-14, Kevin Cooper): Motion to recommend a favorable zoning change to the Board of County Commissioners. Outcome: approved; tally recorded as 6 yes, 0 no.

Ending: The commission closed the hearing, entered the written objection into the record, and adjourned after routine staff updates about the next meeting. The final rezoning decision will be made by the Owen County Board of Commissioners after they review the commission's recommendation and the submitted materials.