FORTVILLE — Officials in Hancock County approved measures this week furthering Fortville on its path to taking over its own planning and zoning by the beginning of next year.
Hancock County’s board of zoning appeals and area plan commission currently address planning and zoning matters in Fortville town limits.
At a recent Fortville town council meeting, leaders described the latest measures as the “training wheels” that will ease the town into its new in-house responsibilities.
One of those measures was an ordinance that Fortville and Hancock County officials passed establishing a Fortville division of the Hancock County Board of Zoning Appeals, which will go into effect July 1.
Adam Zaklikowski, Fortville’s planning administrator, explained at the town council meeting that the division will be obligated to follow the county’s zoning ordinance.
Zaklikowski said state law indicates that the county plan commission appoints one member to the new Fortville division of the county’s board of zoning appeals, the town council appoints one member and the town council president appoints three members. He said the town council will also appoint an attorney for the division.
The town’s division of the county’s board of zoning appeals will be in effect from July 1 through the end of the year, Zaklikowski added.
An agreement between Hancock County and Fortville that spells out how the county provides planning and zoning services to the town will terminate on Jan. 1, 2020. Both sides approved the termination earlier this week. They also voted to terminate on Jan. 1 a memorandum of understanding that delves further into those county-provided planning and zoning services.
The “training wheels” come off in January 2020, when Fortville will replace its division of the county board of zoning appeals with the town’s own appeals board, Zaklikowski said. At that time the town will also establish its own advisory plan commission along with a town zoning ordinance, subdivision control ordinance and likely a stormwater ordinance as well, he added. That process will also include budgeting for future in-house planning and building oversight along with how to go about collecting associated fees, Zaklikowski continued.
The Fortville Town Council approved the changes 4-1 with Fritz Fentz, Michael Frischkorn, Tim Hexamer and Robert Holland voting in favor and Lenzy Hendrix voting against.
Frischkorn told the Daily Reporter that he supports Fortville reinstating the planning and zoning authority it once had years ago because it will result in “local control and local accountability by people who actually live in the community and are affected by those decisions.”
“It’s time we took that back,” Frischkorn added.
Hendrix, an architect, told the Daily Reporter that he voted against the changes because he doesn’t feel the town has enough qualified people with enough knowledge on planning and zoning matters to serve on the future bodies.
“That concerns me,” Hendrix said. “I would hate for it to be a popularity contest.”
The Hancock County Commissioners this week voted 2-0 to pass the ordinance establishing the Fortville division of the Hancock County Board of Zoning appeals along with the Jan. 1 terminations of the agreement and memorandum of understanding between the county and the town. Commissioners Marc Huber and John Jessup voted in favor while Brad Armstrong was absent.
The Hancock County Council approved the measures 5-1, with Bill Bolander, Jeannine Gray, Kent Fisk, Mary Noe and Jim Shelby voting in favor and Martha Vail opposing. Debbie Bledsoe was absent.
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WHAT: Public meetings on Fortville’s formation of a town board of zoning appeals and plan commission
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. May 14 and June 12
WHERE: Fortville Community Center, 400 W. Church St., Fortville
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