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Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Ind. Courts - "Randolph County seeking judge's opinion on zoning law for courthouse annex"
Updating this ILB entry from July 22, Joy Leiker of the Muncie Star-Press reports today:
WINCHESTER -- Randolph County will ask a judge to interpret its unified zoning ordinance, determining specifically whether the county ever needed a variance for the embattled courthouse expansion project.It's a ruling already months in the making and will require the Board of County Commissioners, through its attorney, to file a request in court.
The goal is to put an end to the fight over whether a planned annex, to be built on the south side of the existing courthouse, needed a variance.
The county applied for one in April, thinking the annex was too close to the right-of-way on Franklin Street. It was denied by the Board of Zoning Appeals in May. Since then, the county has looked for a way to proceed without the BZA's approval.
What's become clear is that the unified zoning ordinance doesn't address rules for the courthouse, which is situated on the downtown square and bordered by four streets. There are rules for corner lots and properties next to everything from industry to commercial business, but there's nothing that regulates an island property like the courthouse.
For a time Monday, it appeared Commissioners David Lenkensdofer and Kathy Beumer were poised to continue with the project without an official legal interpretation. But fellow Commissioner Ron Chalfant said he wasn't comfortable with that, and made a motion to ask for a judge's ruling. Lenkensdofer and Beumer ultimately voted with Chalfant.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 19, 2008 09:40 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts