Real estate firm tops plan agenda

For the third time in as many months, a proposal to rezone a group of homes on Greencastle's South Side from residential to Professional Business District is back on the docket for tonight's city Plan Commission.

The meeting will kick off at 7 p.m. at city hall with board members discussing proposal P06-02, rezoning of lots located within the parcel bounded by Zinc Mill Road (east), Tennessee Street (south), and State Road 240 (north and west), from Single-Family Dwelling District 2 to Professional Business (PB).

Carpenter Real Estate Company is making the request in order to construct an office building to house its operations. The request has been tabled twice since it was first brought to the board in April.

Several residents who live near the 1.25-acre property in question attended the April plan commission meeting to express their support for the project. But it wasn't enough for board members who asked that the real estate company garner the support of more residents who would agree to let their properties be included in the rezone request.

In May, the proposal was back before the plan commission where several residents had a chance to talk about their likes and dislikes of the project. However, their discussion was just that as there were not enough board members present at the meeting to take official action.

As of last month, all but two of the homeowners in the area had joined the petition to have their properties rezoned. Some still expressed concerns for how the change might affect traffic in the area and others pointed to the upcoming construction of the new Ivy Tech campus at Rokicki Park which is sure to account for at least some added traffic on its own.

City Planner Shannon Norman said the properties included in the rezone would be grandfathered as residential as long as the current homeowners live there. But once they go up for sale, the new zoning would take effect.

Under city code, Professional Business District (PB) allows for the operation of churches, community centers, daycares, medical offices, government offices, parking lots and garages, trade or business schools and data processing centers.

In remaining business, the plan commission was scheduled to discuss the final plat for Enterprise Park 1, phase 2, major subdivision, also known as the Sgt. Cunningham Site.

Involved in the planning of the site, Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center Director Bill Dory said Monday he asked that the request be taken off the agenda for tonight's meeting to allow time for some additional engineering. He said the final plat is not all that different from the first plat previously approved.

"Progress is being made," Dory said.

City officials are still discussing the possibility of having a "shell" building constructed on the industrially-zoned property with hopes that it would attract a buyer.

Tonight's meeting is open to the public.