Post by jean on Aug 19, 2020 13:15:55 GMT -5
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Zoning : City and County
Dear Editor,
I am writing about how our City and County Zoning laws and the boards are making these decisions.
Purpose of Zoning Laws:
Indiana Code (IC)IC 36-7-4-201Purpose
The purpose of this chapter is to encourage units to improve the health, safety, convenience, and welfare of their citizens and to plan for the future development of their communities to the end:
(2) that new communities grow only with adequate public way, utility, health, educational, and recreational facilities;
(4) that residential areas provide healthful surroundings for family life;
iga.in.gov/static-documents/f/e/0/6/fe06849a/TITLE36_AR7_ch4.pdf
Zoning laws are put in place for the above reasons as well as many others. So why is our community , both City and County so swift to circumvent those laws by granting variances and special exceptions? And let me be clear...I am not talking about the average person who might not be able to meet certain setbacks because they are in a grandfathered area and cannot create the standards needed to comply with the law. I am talking about life changing variances and special exceptions like the following:
When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that PFAS comes from common items put in a landfill every day and other state governments have stopped the use of the resulting leachate being spread on croplands because it is turning up in the soil, the water, the crops and the food supply, (and we are currently doing this) how is that as stated above protecting for the health of our community?
When the EPA says that the foam used to fight airplane crashes and is practiced with at these expanded airports by firefighters contains PFAS and it is a threat to the environment, how did our airport expansion get passed with a wetlands and stream located in that area? When the City allows a drug rehab center (which by the way i applaud these people for pursuing) to be allowed in a residential area by granting them a variance of use which the neighbors objected to,(and i am one of the neighbors) because of property values and other serious problems in that area, exactly how is that providing a healthful surrounding for the family life of that area? Did any of the board members reason and ask why they didn't pursue putting this in an area that was already approved by the zoning laws for their purpose? If our zoning laws don't address the purpose intended then it seems that would need to be addressed by the zoning board and that we are lacking.
When will zoning LAWS be abided by in our community and not decided on the "emotions" or the power of the entities seeking a variance? If there are not solid, substantial reasons for circumventing the law through a variance, that request should be turned down...otherwise why do we have zoning "laws" in the first place? In our community it certainly appears that many more serious exceptions are being passed than are being turned down.
When the purpose of zoning laws as described by Indiana Code above are to benefit the community in the ways that are listed , how can the County Zoning board, in reference to the landfill, tell the community (and they did) we are only looking at the zoning and not the impact of the zoning...so unless you specifically want to speak to the zoning you cannot talk about what Indiana law states is the reason for these zoning laws being set in the first place, like the impact on the aquifer, the soil, the air quality, in general as IC code put it "the health" of the community?
People, government is getting way beyond rediculous even on the local level. Time to start holding them accountable.
Jean Johannigman
Greensburg, IN