A proposal making its way through the College Township government could turn some vacant farmland into a commercial zone.
An area of just under 150 acres on Shiloh Road, which cuts across East College Avenue and Benner Pike, could be re-zoned from agricultural to commercial.
While the township council wasn’t willing to make any binding decision one way or the other at its Thursday night meeting, it did decide to further explore options for re-zoning the land.
“Doing nothing doesn’t solve any of the current issues,” says Mark Holdren, township planner. “The sinkholes won’t go away. There will still be stormwater issues in the area. Even if the land stays in the agricultural zoning district, there can still be development on that land.”
On the other hand, Holdren says, re-zoning the land could help alleviate some of the issues the township currently faces involving that land while providing some tangible benefits.
“Rezoning the area would help diversify some of the land that is available for nonresidential development,” he says. “With the increased emphasis on office and light manufacturing, it will provide revenue to the township that will cover or exceed municipal costs, so it isn’t negative from a fiscal aspect.”
One of the major concerns that council has regarding and development on the land is Rogers Well, a public water well and chlorination facility located in that area. Dan Hartzell, a member of the College Township Water Authority, says it would be a bad move to rezone the land off Shiloh Road.
“It is the unanimous recommendation of the water authority that the zoning that’s in place now remain,” he says. “That does allow for development, such as one acre lots and single family homes. I heard that if our well was to be compromised through rezoning — and it was built under the consideration of the zoning that was there now — we’re talking in excess of $4 million to build a new well.”
Holdren says the planning commission will explore an expansion of the wellhead protection overlay district, which prohibits certain types of development within the immediate area surrounding the well. For example, cemeteries, gas stations, landfills, and mines aren’t allowed, as they could compromise the well.
The council members didn’t feel strongly enough to reject or approve the idea of re-zoning the land for commercial development. Instead they, tasked the planning commission and water authority with providing a handful of options for the land.
“If you could somehow magically come up with a way to make everybody happy, that would be great,” councilwoman Carla Stilson says.
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