Planning Commission votes to send City Council’s data‑processing zoning changes back to council

The Logansport City Planning Commission on Aug. 10 voted to send proposed zoning changes for data processing/data centers back to City Council for further consideration. The commission took a roll-call vote after a prolonged discussion of whether the city should treat data-processing uses as permitted, allowed by special exception, or barred until standards are set.

Planning staff summarized the committee recommendation that the use be struck out (marked with x) across most districts so any future data-processing use would require review by the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) under a special exception or use variance. During the vote sequence staff explained how a 'yes' or 'no' on the motion would be interpreted. As staff put it: "If you vote yes, you're saying that you think it should have been how it was before." The commission recorded five yes votes and two no votes; commissioners who voted yes were Tom Nelson, Jackson Weisley, Judy Burkhart, Theresa Binkard and John Brown; Scott Peede and Susan Spencer voted no.

Commissioners framed the vote as a procedural step to ensure City Council reconsiders the zoning changes with additional input from the planning committee; staff said the council requested a quick turnaround so the item can appear at the council's next meeting cycle. The record contains inconsistent phrasing about whether the vote produced a "favorable" or "unfavorable" recommendation; staff reiterated the vote will send the matter back to council with the commission’s recommendation for Council to act on.

The commission also noted that the committee is finalizing standards and intends to bring additional material to Council after field visits and further drafting. No final zoning standard or threshold was adopted at the meeting; the matter was returned to Council for further consideration.