Plan Commission approves NewCold development plan for Middle Jamestown Road with conditions

The Lebanon Plan Commission approved a development plan for a multi-phase NewCold cold-storage facility at 1350 Middle Jamestown Road, city planning staff said, contingent on several outstanding technical and permitting conditions.

City planner Ben Kuntz told the commission the applicant intends to route all truck traffic to its existing site in the Lebanon Business Park and across a proposed access bridge so “no trucks will be using Middle Jamestown Road.” That routing is a principal factor in the staff recommendation to approve the plan.

Staff recommended approval after finding the proposal conforms to the city’s Unified Development Ordinance provisions, subject to four conditions: the applicant must (1) address remaining technical (“tack”) comments in the staff report, (2) obtain formal drainage/stormwater approval from both the city and the county because the project affects a regulated drain, (3) confirm the proposed lighting pole heights to verify compliance with the 30-foot maximum in the industrial district, and (4) submit a comprehensive signage package for city review before any signs are installed. The commission adopted the recommendation by voice vote.

The development is planned as a large, multi-phase industrial site. Kuntz said the full buildout shown on the plans totals roughly 1,400,000 square feet; Phase 1 is split into Sequence 1 and Sequence 2. The primary operations — cold and frozen storage with administrative office space — are arranged so dock doors, trailer storage, and truck/trailer parking sit at the rear of the building, away from Middle Jamestown Road. Kuntz also said required stormwater detention is located on the western portion of the parcel.

Kuntz described dimensional compliance: the proposed building height is about 138 feet, which the Unified Development Ordinance permits in the industrial district but triggers larger required setbacks. For this project Kuntz said the front setback calculation requires 226 feet (50-foot base plus 2 feet for each foot above 50 feet), and the side setback requirement is about 201 feet; the plan meets those measurements. On parking, Kuntz noted the UDO now sets maximum parking allowances rather than minimums: the maximum allowable spaces for this site are 1,391, and the applicant’s plan shows 1,259 spaces, most of them for trucks and trailers at the rear of the site.

Applicant representative Nick Santoro described the project as a major private investment and workforce generator. “With this extension, we will employ upwards of 450 Hoosiers from the surrounding area, and we will be very close to a $1,000,000,000 invested in cutting-edge logistics,” Santoro said. He characterized NewCold’s intent as remaining “the best neighbor that we can to the city of Lebanon.” Those employment and investment figures were offered by the applicant and recorded in the public hearing record.

Commission members asked a small number of technical questions before the public hearing was opened and then closed with no public comments. Commissioner Heather asked whether the buffer requirements change with building height; Kuntz replied that the increased setback is the regulatory accommodation for additional height and that the submitted plans show a combination of trees and shrubs along the street frontage.

Votes at a glance - Approval of development plan Docket 24-53 (NewCold, 1350 Middle Jamestown Road): approved by voice vote. Motion carried. Conditions: address remaining technical comments; obtain city and county stormwater/drainage approval; confirm lighting pole heights; submit comprehensive signage plan prior to installation. - Approval of minutes: approved by voice vote. - Approval of 2025 meeting calendar (including a January meeting on Tuesday the 21st): approved by voice vote. - Election of officers (administrative): Corey elected president; Keith elected vice president. Both elections approved by voice vote. - Adjournment: approved by voice vote.

What happens next City planning staff will track the applicant’s responses to the outstanding technical comments and the required stormwater approvals from both the city and county before any building permits are issued. The applicant must also submit the lighting pole-height verification and the final signage plan for administrative review and approval prior to sign installation.