APC tells owner to vacate unpermitted cabin after health department finds violation

At its November meeting the Warrick County Area Plan Commission closed discussion on a long‑running complaint concerning an unpermitted cabin on Ashby Road at the Yeager property and directed immediate corrective steps. Staff reported the county’s GIS and aerial records show a red‑roof structure on a parcel where only one dwelling is permitted and said the health department’s November 4 inspection found an undersized holding tank with seepage into an adjacent ditch and that the health department planned an abatement order. Kyle Yeager, sworn in, told the commission the structure was intended to be temporary after being moved to the lot in October 2022 and that his family began occupying it in April 2023 while awaiting soil testing, permitting and financing to relocate the unit to an adjacent lot. Yeager said weather, access and financing delayed required soil work. Board members and staff pressed Yeager on timelines and on how sewage is currently handled; Yeager said wastewater is sent to a holding tank and pumped off site. The commission’s legal representative outlined enforcement options including filing a civil complaint in superior court and noted local ordinance fines up to $300 per day. The APC moved (and carried) to require the owner to vacate the cabin or otherwise make it uninhabitable (remove kitchen facilities or move the unit) and to return the matter to the agenda for review on December 8. If the owner reapplies for permits, the board and staff said they will require proper soil studies, access approvals and building inspection sign‑offs before occupancy can resume.