MARION COUNTY — To reach Morgan Acres event center, located just over the Hancock County line in Marion County, drivers wind their way along a county road that’s home to numerous industrial developments — chief among them a massive Amazon building, along with Brybelly, Applied Fabricators and others.
The road quickly transitions into a more rural feel, with a sign advertising brown eggs for sale in the yard of one small home. But several fields feature signs advertising future developments.
Morgan Acres itself features a barn that’s over 100 years old, where the rural look is the selling point for guests who have weddings and other events. It’s just feet from the Hancock County line, and from the proposed future site of an industrial building proposed by Logistics Realty. Right now, it’s a soybean field. Across the road, real estate developer Lauth wants to build another.
On the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 18, the event space played host to a town hall meeting in which officials from both Marion and Hancock counties were questioned about the area’s significant industrial growth.
Shani and Tim Williams, the owners of Morgan Acres, also live and farm on the property. In addition to hosting weddings, the property frequently plays host to community events, including fundraisers for local nonprofit organizations and school field trips.
Shani Williams has started a petition drive to ask Hancock and Marion County officials to push back against industrial development in the area. Williams said the construction, increased traffic and light pollution will have a damaging effect on her business and her family’s quality of life.
“I believe that we all have property rights, and that our property rights are no less significant than the right of the farmer to sell that field,” Shani Williams said. “We all have property rights, and we have the right to peaceful enjoyment of our property.”
In attendance were county commissioners John Jessup and Bill Spalding and council member Keely Butrum. State Rep. Bob Cherry, R-Greenfield, also attended, along with Warren Township Development Association board member John Sweezy; state Sen. Jean Breaux, D-Indianapolis; and Indianapolis-Marion County Council member La Keisha Jackson, D-Warren Township.
The event was moderated by John Streeter, a friend of the Williams family who does not live in either Hancock or Marion County. Officials were asked questions that had been submitted ahead of the meeting.
During the meeting, Butrum said she would support a moratorium on rezoning land in the county until the completion of a new comprehensive plan. The county is paying $250,000 for the completion of a new plan from Vandewalle & Associates; its current plan was last updated in 2012. That process started in June and is expected to take about 18 months.
“I don’t have any role in rezoning, but I would certainly support anyone who did have a vote not zoning any more land industrial until further analysis can be done,” Butrum said.
Jessup and Spalding said they would not support an absolute moratorium on industrial rezoning, but added that they support slowing down and taking a closer look at what companies are planning to do.
Spalding said he shares citizens’ concerns about development outpacing the capacity of roads and public safety departments.
“As far as infrastructure, I think that is on the way,” Spalding said. “…Be patient. We’re learning things all the time. We need to approach these businesses and ask them to pay for a portion of that upkeep until it comes time to repave those roads.”
Questions were also asked about tax increment financing and its impact on the counties’ tax base. Butrum said that although she has been critical of TIF districts and there can be problems with how they are used, they are an alternative to all taxpayers paying for things that mostly benefit developers. TIF districts capture funds directly from developers from the roads that are damaged by construction.
“Essentially, these developments pay for their roads themselves,” Butrum said. “I hear the argument made a lot that we should have prepared better, we should have done more for the roads. But really, in theory, what that says is that we should have taken all your individual taxpayer dollars and built nice wide shiny roads for semis to come and tear up to build their industrial buildings, and they’ve got no skin in that game… There is millions of dollars in road work planned for this area.”
Cherry said although planning and zoning is a local issue, he is concerned about how growth is being handled in areas like Hancock County. He said one issue to keep in mind is the labor shortage that many local businesses have faced since the COVID-19 pandemic; some employees with wages well over the minimum wage are still having trouble filling jobs.
“We need to get people to fill these jobs before they keep expanding,” Cherry said.
Officials also said they looked forward to greater collaboration with Marion County officials on resolving issues that impact both sides of the county line.
The town hall drew attendees from both counties. Brian Jarman, a Hancock County attorney whose home is in the area, said he’s concerned about the increased traffic and potential light pollution. He pointed out that no representatives from the development companies building in the area attended the meeting.
“If they’re part of the community, which they’ve said repeatedly at plan commission meetings and commissioner meetings how they believe in the community, how they’ll invest in the community — and yet their opportunity to be here and be part of the community, they’ve passed on,” Jarman said.