Overlay District Questions for I-65 North Corridor Land Owners

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Question #1: Is the land I own included in the proposed Overlay District?
Background: You should contact the Boone County Area Plan Commission office (Room 101 at 116 West Washington Street in Lebanon, E-mail rcardis@co.boone.in.us, Phone 765-482-3821,) to confirm that your Parcel Number(s) (list parcel numbers) is / are included in the proposed Overlay District. The list of all property owners identified by Watchdog Indiana within the proposed Overlay District can be found online at http://www.finplaneducation.net/overlay_district_owners.htm. (Pictures of the proposed Overlay District map can be found online at http://www.finplaneducation.net/overlay_district_map.htm.)

Question #2: Would the zoning of my land change if the proposed Overlay District is adopted?
Background: Your land Parcel(s) is / are now zoned AG General Agricultural / R1 Low Density Single Family Residential / R2 Low Density Single Family and Two-Family Residential / R4 High Density Single and Two-Family Residential / GB General Business / I1 Light Industry / I2 General Industry. Your zoning would not change if the proposed Overlay District is adopted. However, the proposed Overlay District would make it easier for development to occur near your land. Our Boone County Zoning Ordinance can be found online at http://www.boonecounty.in.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=69.

Question #3: Would it be easier for my neighbors to rezone their land to a Commercial or Industrial classification if the proposed Overlay District is adopted?
Background: Your neighbors owning land within the Overlay District would need the approval of the Boone County Area Plan Commission to change their zoning. Our Boone County Zoning Ordinance today makes it unlikely the APC would approve the spot rezoning applications of your neighbors because they would not conform to the surrounding agricultural and residential land uses. However, if our Zoning Ordinance is amended to include the proposed Overlay District identifying the I-65 North Corridor as a premier office and industrial business location, the APC would likely approve the applications of your neighbors to rezone their land to a Commercial or Industrial classification.

Question #4: If the proposed Overlay District is adopted and I change the zoning of my land to a Commercial or Industrial classification, would I be able to get my land rezoned back to its original zoning classification?
Background: You would have to get the Boone County Area Plan Commission to approve your application to return to your original zoning classification. The existence of the Overlay District identifying the I-65 North Corridor as a premier office and industrial business location would make it unlikely that your application to return to your original zoning would be approved by the APC.

Question #5: What does our Boone County Comprehensive Plan identify as desired future uses for the land within the proposed Overlay District?
Background: Our Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted in 2009, "is intended to serve as a guide for future growth and development" until the year 2030 and "strikes a balance between future growth and economic development with a plan that focuses on agriculture as an economic development industry and maintains the rural character and quality of life that so many Boone County residents enjoy and cherish." The Future Land Use Map included in our Comprehensive Plan on Page 123 pertains to the proposed Overlay District and is reproduced on the reverse side of this page. This Future Land Use Map illustrates how our Comprehensive Plan (a) anticipates mixed-use commercial and light-industrial development at the intersection of I-65 and State Route 47, (b) identifies Medium-Density Residential as the future land use for the parcels of land on the west side of I-65 from the Lebanon city limit to about CR 300 N, and (c) retains General Agriculture as the future land use for all the remaining parcels of land within the proposed Overlay District. Our Comprehensive Plan can be found online at http://www.boonecounty.in.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=65.

Question #6: Does the proposed Overlay District document meet the Indiana Code legal requirement to "pay reasonable regard to" (a) our Comprehensive Plan, (b) the current conditions and character of current structures and uses within the proposed Overlay District, (c) the most desirable use for which the land in the proposed Overlay District is adapted, (d) the conservation of property values throughout the jurisdiction, and (e) responsible development and growth?
Background: The proposed Overlay District document would amend our Boone County Zoning Ordinance to declare, "The I-65 North Corridor is a premier office and industrial business location …." This declaration does not pay reasonable regard to our Comprehensive Plan that retains General Agriculture as the desired future land use until the year 2030 for the great majority of land parcels within the proposed Overlay District. The few parcels at the intersection with State Route 47 appear to be the only portion of I-65 to which the proposed Overlay District is in any way applicable according to our Comprehensive Plan. The development plan review and approval process included today in our Boone County Zoning Ordinance already gives the Boone County Area Plan Commission the authority – without the proposed Overlay District – to require responsible Commercial and Industrial development and growth at the I-65 and State Route 47 intersection.

Question #7: Is it true that an overlay district adopted by the County is useless if the territory within the overlay district is annexed by a municipality?
Background: Our Boone County Zoning Ordinance today contains an I-65 South Corridor Overlay District that is very similar to the proposed Overlay District being considered for the I-65 North Corridor. Like many Boone County residents, the Boone County Area Plan Commission went on record opposing the new truck stop within the I-65 South Corridor Overlay District at Exit 133. However, after the I-65 South Corridor was annexed by Whitestown, the Whitestown Plan Commission and Whitestown Town Council went ahead and approved the new truck stop. The I-65 South Corridor Overlay District that is included in our Zoning Ordinance is unenforceable because the I-65 South Corridor has been annexed by Whitestown and Lebanon.

Question #8: Will Lebanon forcibly annex the I-65 North Corridor if the proposed Overlay District is adopted?
Background: The unintended consequences from adopting the proposed Overlay District would likely include an involuntary annexation attempt by Lebanon like the two attempts recently abandoned by the City of Lebanon where pro-developer interests were emphasized ahead of the agricultural preservation included in our Boone County Comprehensive Plan. Generally, a court must order a proposed annexation to take place if the Indiana Code requirement is met that "the territory sought to be annexed is needed and can be used by the municipality for its development in the reasonably near future." A remonstrance against a Lebanon annexation of the I-65 North Corridor might fail if Lebanon claims the existence of the Overlay District proves the corridor is needed for development in the reasonably near future.

Question #9: Is the proposed Overlay District compatible with, and appropriate for, the available infrastructure?
Background: Our Boone County Comprehensive Plan includes the statement that "All commercial development should occur on public utilities," and provides that "All industrial development should occur on public utilities." Our Comprehensive Plan also includes the statement that "We will diversify our tax base by promoting and projecting growth in logical extensions of existing infrastructure." There are no realistic plans to logically extend public utilities within the proposed Overlay District before the year 2030. Taxpayers and utility ratepayers are not willing to subsidize developers by providing extraordinarily expensive infrastructure within the proposed Overlay District. Therefore, the office and industrial business uses referenced in the proposed Overlay District are not compatible with, and appropriate for, the existing infrastructure availability.

Question #10: Is the proposed Overlay District expected to increase property values?
Background: The proposed Overlay District would not likely increase property values unless and until extensive electrical, water, sewer, and drainage infrastructure improvements are provided. There are no realistic plans to provide before the year 2030 these extraordinarily expensive infrastructure improvements necessary for office and industrial business development.

Question #11: Why aren’t adult entertainment businesses an excluded use in the proposed Overlay District?
Background: Adult entertainment businesses are not now allowed in the land parcels within the proposed Overlay District because our Boone County Zoning Ordinance prohibits adult entertainment businesses where land parcels are zoned agricultural or residential. However, our Zoning Ordinance does allow adult entertainment businesses in land parcels zoned for office and industrial business uses. Therefore, unless they are listed as excluded uses, adult entertainment businesses would be allowed within the proposed Overlay District when the zoning is changed to accommodate office and industrial business uses.

Question #12: Is the proposed Overlay District needed because significant office and industrial business development is anticipated in the I-65 North Corridor before 2030?
Background: Nothing has occurred since the Comprehensive Plan was approved four years ago to justify amending the Boone County Zoning Ordinance to include the proposed Overlay District. There is still much room for the growth anticipated in the Comprehensive Plan for the I-65 corridor south of Lebanon. There has been no residential and commercial development in the 3,675 acres that Lebanon annexed four years ago south along I-65. There is also ample room for growth along I-65 south of Exit 133 because development in the two Anson TIF districts along the east side of I-65 has been slower than expected. If the proposed Overlay District is not approved, our Comprehensive Plan will continue to successfully emphasize the considerable unrealized growth opportunities in the I-65 South Corridor while preserving our precious farmland and protecting our rural quality of life in the I-65 North Corridor.

Question #13: What can I do if I don’t think the proposed Overlay District is a good idea?
Background: The Boone County Area Plan Commission passed a motion at its last meeting to have a public information meeting on September 4 and a public hearing on October 2 for the proposed Overlay District. You can testify in opposition to the proposed Overlay District at the October 2 APC meeting. (You can also probably testify at the September 4 meeting since it has been advertised as a public hearing.) The APC members will see your written objections for the October 2 meeting if you submit them to the APC office in Room 101 at 116 West Washington Street in Lebanon no later than September 27 (and no later than August 30 for the September 4 meeting).

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This page was last updated on 08/21/13.