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Elkhart County approves three DPUD rezonings and expansions in Middlebury area
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Summary
On July 21 the Elkhart County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved three DPUD/DPUD-M zoning amendments and related site changes allowing warehouse and agricultural-processing expansions in Middlebury-area townships.
ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. — The Elkhart County Board of Commissioners on July 21 approved three development plan (DPUD/DPUD-M) zoning amendments affecting properties near Middlebury, clearing the way for a 3,500-square-foot warehouse addition, a poultry-processing expansion and a commercial building addition.
Planning staff presented all three petitions with recommendations of approval and reported unanimous or near-unanimous plan commission support. Jason O'Holl, Elkhart County zoning administrator, said the Schrock Furniture DPUD amendment received a planning recommendation of approval and an 8–0 vote from the plan commission with one member absent. "This petition received a recommendation of approval from planning staff as well as the plan commission," O'Holl said.
The Schrock Furniture DPUD amendment will add a 3,500-square-foot warehouse to an existing DPUD along County Road 37/County Road 34. Danielle Richards of the Elkhart County Planning Department said there were no remonstrators and no development issues identified; commissioners voted to approve without discussion.
A second petition, for Mid State Specialty Eggs in Middlebury and represented at the hearing by Evan Marsh, sought to add an adjacent parcel and amend the site plan and zoning from A-4 and M-1 to DPUD-A1 to enable expanded operations and utility connections to Middlebury. Richards told the board the plan commission recommended approval unanimously and that the amendment would allow the project to connect to Middlebury utilities. During the meeting, a speaker noted the expansion would "double their capacity, which would be about 6,000,000 eggs per day." That statement was made in meeting remarks and was not attributed to a named presenter in the record.
The third item, Mid River Sales DPUD M-1 (Tri County Land Trustee Corporation, John and Sue Miller, represented by Surveying and Mapping LLC), covers an existing mixed-use property on County Road 18 in Middlebury Township and includes a proposed 3,400-square-foot addition to an east building used for upholstery, horse supply and related activities. Deborah Hughes of Surveying and Mapping said the business has operated at the site more than 10 years and the request brings the property into conformance with the county zoning ordinance.
Each petition cleared the public hearing stage with no members of the public remonstrating at the meeting. Commissioners approved all three petitions by unanimous vote.
Why it matters: The approvals alter land-use designations and allow increases in industrial or commercial activity in township areas, including a relatively large poultry-processing expansion that the meeting record characterizes as a sizable capacity increase. County staff said required utility connections and site conditions will be addressed during implementation.
What happens next: Approved DPUD/DPUD-M amendments proceed to implementation under county planning rules; applicants will complete required permitting and utility connections. The planning record shows plan commission votes and staff recommendations were the basis for the commissioners' approvals.
