Commissioners approve commercial rezoning near West Lafayette after petitioner commits to exclude certain uses
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Summary
The board adopted Ordinance 2026-01, rezoning roughly 25 acres near West Lafayette. The petitioner cited market demand and planned residential development and submitted a written commitment excluding specified commercial uses; the board approved the commitment and the ordinance 3–0.
The Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 5 adopted Ordinance 2026-01 to rezone a roughly 25‑acre site on the county's west side adjacent to the West Lafayette city limits.
County staff (Unidentified Speaker 7) said the site — part of the Wabash/Township plan area — had portions rezoned to R-3 last year, leaving a remaining R-1 tract. The site lies in an area with multiple ongoing developments and was described as appropriate for medium-density residential and complementary commercial services.
Ryan Munden of RTS Law, representing the petitioner, told the board the rezone was driven by strong market demand and a lack of appropriately zoned land for commercial services to serve rapidly growing nearby neighborhoods. He said the area includes roughly 2,000 planned single‑family homes within two miles and several multifamily projects nearby. Munden said the petitioner submitted a commitment after the Area Plan Commission hearing to exclude certain General Business (GB) uses from the parcel.
Unidentified Speaker 2 moved to approve the commitment — which the motion described as prohibiting development of mobile home dealers, adult bookstores, farm machinery/service and repair, drive‑in motion picture theaters, and adult motion picture arcades — and Unidentified Speaker 1 seconded. The motion to approve the commitment carried by voice vote. The board then recorded a 3–0 vote adopting Ordinance 2026-01.
The rezone was supported at the Area Plan Commission, which had recommended approval by a 13–2 vote, and county staff described the area as a growing corridor with planned road extensions and pedestrian connections that would support a commercial component, according to the hearing record. The motion and subsequent ordinance approval conclude the county's action on this petition at this meeting.