Plan commission recommends rezoning US 20 parcel for highway commercial; sends recommendation to common council

The City of Angola Plan Commission on April 14 recommended that the Common Council approve a zoning map amendment to rezone a 45.225-acre parcel on U.S. Highway 20 from agricultural to Highway Commercial.

Planning staff told the commission the parcel, annexed into Angola in March 2024 under Ordinance 17-49-20-24, sits just west of Golden Lake Road and adjacent to existing highway-commercial zoning and a Love's truck stop. Staff reported no public comments from notices mailed to nearby property owners and recommended the map amendment as consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan and expected future land-classification updates.

Don Wise Jr., the petitioner and property owner, told the commission he proposes leaving about 32–34 acres as agricultural buffer next to Silver Lake while rezoning the remaining acreage for commercial uses. “We left the 34 acres...we didn’t want to put commercial right next to Silver Lake,” Don Wise Jr. said, adding he envisions commercial development given the parcel’s proximity to I-69 and U.S. 20.

Commission members discussed annexation and extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) questions during the hearing; staff clarified the parcel was annexed into Angola in March 2024 and that ETJ boundaries do not automatically expand with later annexations. Planning staff also noted the parcel is not in a floodplain and listed applicable code references, including Title 18 of the Unified Development Ordinance and Indiana statutory references provided in the staff report.

After closing the public portion of the hearing, a commissioner moved for a positive recommendation; the motion carried by voice vote. The plan commission’s action is a recommendation to the Common Council, not the final rezoning approval.