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Spencer County Fiscal Court rejects Mt. Washington Road commercial rezoning, approves Love Lane residential rezoning
Summary
The Fiscal Court voted down a request to rezone a 1.94‑acre tract on Mt. Washington Road for a Dollar General; the court approved a separate Love Lane residential rezoning. A local resident had urged design changes and raised safety concerns about the Mt. Washington site.
County Judge/Executive John Riley presided over a heated zoning debate at the Spencer County Fiscal Court meeting on May 3, where magistrates rejected a commercial rezoning request for a site on Mt. Washington Road and approved a residential rezoning for Love Lane.
The Dollar General application — Travis Farms Inc. for land owned by Susan A. Cox — sought to rezone a 1.94‑acre tract in the 4900 block of Mt. Washington Road from AG‑1 (agricultural) to B‑2 (commercial). Resident Charlie Jewell told the court he lives at 4910 Mt. Washington Road and said the proposed store posed safety and aesthetic problems, urging brick sides and warning that driveway visibility is poor. “If they were to sit in his driveway for five minutes they would see that the visibility was not very good and if they pulled out, they would get hit,” Jewell said.
After Planning and Zoning staff recommendations and debate among magistrates, the motion to approve the Mt. Washington rezoning failed on a roll call. Magistrate Tim Brewer and Judge Riley voted “aye.” Magistrates Jerry Moody, Mike Moody, Brett Beaverson and Jim Travis voted “nay.” The court’s minutes record the motion as defeated.
Separately, the court approved the rezoning for 3740 Love Lane (Betty D. Marksbury) from AG‑1 to R‑1 based on the Planning Board’s findings. That motion passed by roll call with all members voting in favor.
Why it matters: the Mt. Washington decision blocks a commercial development at a location residents flagged for sight‑line and design concerns; the Love Lane vote changes property classification to residential, affecting future permitted uses. The zoning votes will be recorded in the court’s official ordinances and reflected in the county’s land‑use mapping.
What’s next: the defeated Mt. Washington application remains subject to the applicant’s options under local rules and state law; the Love Lane rezoning will be implemented per the Planning Board’s findings. The court published a public notice of the ordinances in its minutes.
Sources: Meeting discussion and roll‑call votes before the Spencer County Fiscal Court on May 3, 2021.
