Planning commission recommends rezoning to AG-2 to allow sale to adjacent neighbors

The Kosciusko County Planning Commission voted to recommend rezoning a parcel from agricultural (AG) to AG-2 so the land can be sold to adjacent owners, the commission said. The recommendation will be forwarded to the county commissioners for consideration at a March 15 hearing.

Planning staff said the petitioner committed during the hearing that the two new parcels would be combined with the adjacent properties and warned the commission that the property would be landlocked unless combined. "As presented with the commitment that those 2 will be combined to the adjacent property owners," planning staff said during the discussion.

Commissioners and staff discussed that the parcel’s current condition and surrounding land use made the AG-2 classification appropriate for the intended sale, and that any future attempt to create a separate, stand-alone tract would require another public hearing and replat. The commission held that a separate tract could not be created without the board’s approval.

After discussion, a motion to recommend rezoning from AG to AG-2 passed on a voice vote. The commission clerk said the recommendation will be placed on the county commissioners’ agenda for March 15.

The commission noted that the Lisa scoring tool had been used for the application but that staff must consider other factors beyond the score, including whether the land would remain agricultural in practice and how the proposed combination of parcels would be recorded. The commission’s recommendation is advisory; final action will be taken by the county commissioners at the March 15 meeting.