Residents near Mooresville oppose plan to build more houses
Residents near Mooresville say if more homes are added to their unnamed road, they want Morgan County to begin maintaining it.
They voiced opposition to a request from Citizens Energy Group for a minor plat and rezoning of land on the Morgan/Hendricks County Line heard Monday by members of the Morgan County Plan Commission.
According to paperwork filed with the county plan commission, Citizens Energy Group is attempting to purchase property to build a 200-foot-tall, 1.5 million gallon water tank. The property Citizens is looking at is a 34-acre parcel owned by Springhill Christian Ministries. The company wants around two acres for the water tank.
According to the agreement with the church, the company must get the property subdivided into four lots, one of which will be sold to the company for the tank. The property is currently zoned Business-2. The church wants the company to pay to have the remaining three lots rezoned to Residential-1 for single family homes.
Last month, the company obtained a special exception from the county board of zoning appeals allowing the land to be used for a water tank. The property had been in the Mooresville Buffer Zone and under the control of Mooresville, but the county abolished buffer zones in January, bringing those areas under county control.
Bye bye buffers: Municipal control of development on outskirts soon to be a thing of the past
In a written statement to the plan commission, the company said the tank is necessary to "provide additional water supply and redundancy to the greater Southwest water supply district. Currently, a catastrophic event (fire or main break) would cause many residents to be without water until repairs are complete." The company goes on to say, "The tower will provide water supply mitigation and redundancies for these events and future growth."
Neighbors have been caring for road
Neighbors spoke to the BZA to express their concerns and returned for the plan commission meeting to voice their opposition.
The property is a triangular section of land located along a railroad track. Several homes, businesses, and a church are located in the area. Access is by a road that runs off Ind. 67 and goes over the railroad tracks.
That road is owned by Morgan County, although no one has been able to determine when the county came to own it or how.
Residents said they had been maintaining the road. They said it was expensive and said if residents are added to the area, they no longer want to be responsible for its maintenance.
The board voted to approve the new plant, 6-2, with members Bill Mitchell and Kenny Hale voting no.
On the rezoning request, the board voted 7-1 to give the county commissioners a favorable recommendation. Board member Bill Rumbaugh voted against.
Other business
Plan commission members approved a six lot minor plat for 3 Loan, LLC on East Greencastle Road. Commission members also gave a favorable recommendation for rezoning the property from Agricultural to Rural Residential. Several neighbors concerned about the effect on their property values questioned the type of homes that would be built.
Commission members approved vacating three lots in the Foxrun Subdivision and replatting them into two lots. The property is located at 3380, 3372, and 3362 North Pine Song Drive in Washington Township.
Commission members approved a two lot minor plat for property located at 5455 Paradise Lake Road in Green Township.
The next scheduled plan commission meeting is July 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the county administration building.
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Residents say Morgan County should start maintaining their road
