Tippecanoe County commissioners voted unanimously Dec. 1 to rezone a property to MR zoning and to vacate a prior zoning commitment, clearing a key step for a proposed IU Health hospital.

Chris Shelman of Goway Law, representing IU Health, told the board the project would be a $127,000,000 investment and bring more than 200 jobs to the county. Shelman asked the board to approve both the MR rezone and the termination of the older commitment because the planned medical use is consistent with the county’s land use plan for quasi‑public uses such as hospitals.

County staff told the board the site already has access to sewer and water and that staff recommended approval of the MR zone. The staff memo also explained that vacating the prior commitment would apply only to the legal description for the MR area, and that commitments outside that legal description would remain in place.

The board first approved a motion to vacate the prior commitment by voice vote, then recorded a roll-call approval of Ordinance '20 25 43' adopting MR zoning by a 3–0 vote (Byers, Murtaugh, Brown). The resolution to vacate the commitment and the ordinance vote were both presented as steps needed before the petitioner proceeds to subdivision and site review.

No members of the public spoke in favor or opposition during the meeting. County staff and the petitioner emphasized that subdivision-level technical reviews — including drainage and site design — would occur in later permitting steps.

Next steps: vacating the commitment and the adoption of MR zoning enable IU Health and its project team to proceed with design and permitting; further technical approvals (site plan, drainage engineering, building permits) remain required before construction.