Residents speak out against IMI's plans to build a concrete plant near their homes

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — How close is too close when it comes to the construction of a new concrete factory near residential housing?

A mile? The length of a football field?

How about across the street?

Although it might sound outlandish, for the families living along South Tippecanoe County Road 100 West in Shadeland, a concrete factory across the street is a real possibility. The land in question is between County Road 100 West and U.S. 231 and north of West Tippecanoe County Road 275 South.

At the end of August, families were notified that Irving Materials, Inc., hoped to rezone the cornfields across the street from Residential 1 zoning to Industrial 3 zoning.

The change in zoning, if approved, means developers can build heavy-impact industry facilities such as factories or warehouses. The current residential zone means only single-family houses may be developed on that land.

IMI filed a rezoning request with the Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission in hopes of constructing a ready-mix concrete plant and a recycling, stockpiling and crushing facility on 30 acres of the property on the east side South Tippecanoe County Road 100 West.

When families learned about this new proposal, they spoke out against it at September’s area plan commission meeting.

“This engineering company based in Beech Grove, Indiana, will come in here, and without regard to any of us who live here, they will proceed to ruin the lives of us who do live here,” said Mary Holzhauer, a concerned resident at September’s meeting.

“The value of our homes will be drastically reduced if we could even sell them at all," Holzhauer said. "And for those involved, for us who are involved in this, where would we go? Who will buy our homes?”

After Holzhauer shared her concerns, 12 other residents spoke out against the rezoning request, trying to persuade the Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission to vote against it, which its members ultimately did in a 3-to-11 vote.

Those who voted to approve the rezoning were Tom Murtaugh, Kathy Parker and Jody Hamilton.

Those who voted against the rezoning included Gary Schroeder, Perry Brown, Bob Metzger, Jackson Bogan, Lisa Dullum, Diana Luper, Carla Snodgrass, Tracy Brown, Jerry Reynolds, Larry Leverenz, and Michelle Dennis

Many of the residents believe that since the request failed at the Area Plan Commission's meeting their concerns had been addressed. Unfortunately, they were surprised to learn that it had appeared on the Lafayette City Council's October agenda.

They were prepared to speak up against the proposal, but IMI's representative asked the city if they could move their rezoning request to November’s hearing, which the city accepted.

Residents are now prepared to speak out against this rezoning at November’s meeting, although they’re worried about how receptive the Lafayette City Council will be towards their concerns.

What is Irving Materials Inc.'s plan with the property

At September’s Area Plan Commission's meeting, Irving Materials, Inc., requested to rezone 30 acres of land located on the northeast corner of Tippecanoe County Road 275 South and Tippecanoe County Road 100 West that runs along U.S. 231 in Lafayette.

IMI hired Crossroad Engineers of Beech Grove, Indiana, to represent the company to the Area Plan Commission and explain the company’s preliminary plans of turning the property into a concrete plant and aggregate hauling company.

To address some of the concerns of the residents, IMI committed to creating a 20-foot buffering zone at the edges of the property, installing shielded lighting, complying with all local and state regulations and obtaining the proper permits.

Representatives from Crossroad Engineers tried to address the concerns of residents regarding their property value, stating that IMI had similar plants across Indiana in areas with similar land usage. However, the representative did not provide an example of this situation, and when examining other IMI plants, many exist in areas designated for industrial usage and not residential.

Within Tippecanoe County, IMI has three facilities — two in Lafayette and one in West Lafayette. None of IMI's Tippecanoe County facilities exist near a residential community. They are either in or near an industrial area or in a rural area.

IMI purchased the land along Tippecanoe County Road 100 West from Jetboy, LLC, on July 7, 2023, under the name IMI Real Estate, LLC, for $1 million, according to Tippecanoe County property records.

The IMI's engineering representative argued that the land north of the proposed property is used for industrial use; therefore, the board should allow IMI to use its property for industrial use.

The land that the IMI representatives referred to is property owned by Fox Hauling and Construction that is on the southwest corner of U.S. 231 and Indiana 25. The land directly north of the proposed concrete factory is a church.

The IMI representatives also pledged to limit the traffic to and from the facility away from residential roads. However, neighbors seemed skeptical of IMI’s ability to regulate drivers from not taking those roads.

Neighbors’ response to IMI plans

At the October meeting of the Lafayette City Council, about a dozen people showed up in hopes of sharing their concerns with the council about IMI’s desire to rezone the property.

They were told to come back in November since the petitioner asked for an additional month to rework their proposal.

This news left many of these families upset and disheartened by their inability to share their stories.

Gabriel Deise and Michael Saine sat down with the Journal & Courier and explained their concerns about IMI's plans for the property.

For Deise, this issue hits close to home for him. Both in a figurative and literal manner, seeing as every time he leaves his parent’s home, he has to look at the “notice of request for rezoning” sign that sits across the street.

Growing up on South 100 West, Deise recalled the quiet nature of area and seeing his hardworking neighbors enjoy the calm living that only existed at the edge of Lafayette.

Perhaps that is why the notion of concrete plants being built across the street was seen as such a looming threat to the nature of their neighborhood.

Deise is concerned this IMI plant will be detrimental to the neighborhood and to many of the elderly individuals who will live across the street from the proposed facility, if it is approved.

Developers have always wanted to utilize the land, but over the years, the neighborhood has fought them back. But Deise is worried that as his neighbors grow older, their willingness to fight against developers might dissipate.

“Nobody would fight this if a church was going in or apartments were going up. There might be a little whining, but that’s different from a factory,” Saine said.

“I can’t stress this enough; they are going from R1 to I3," Saine said. "We're going from one of the heaviest usages and hardest-hitting usage you can. And their only response was that they would follow all state and federal guidelines.”

Deise and Saine aren’t against the notion of the land being developed, but they would rather see something be built that would benefit the neighborhood and not destroy it.

Deise hopes the Lafayette City Council will understand their concerns and vote against the proposal when it hits their laps at November’s meeting.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Residents against potential concrete plant built across the street