Rezoning for fill site denied

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A local contractor sees a need in the area for a site to dispose of used construction materials such as concrete, asphalt and dirt.

Brad Pardieck, owner of BP2 Construction in Seymour, also would like to start a business to recycle those materials and sell them.

“What we’ve run into here the last several years is we get a lot of calls from people in construction that are looking for a place to dispose of concrete, dirt, asphalt material, things of this nature, and it’s becoming more and more of a need in this area,” he said.

If people can’t find a place to take it, they often will dump it out in the country, Pardieck said.

He recently purchased 14.29 acres in the 2300 block of State Road 11 just north of city limits. The property had been owned by Peace Lutheran Church.

In order to operate a legal fill site on the property, Pardieck recently requested approval from the Seymour Plan Commission to vary from C-1 (neighborhood commercial) zoning to I-2 (general industrial). He presented his petition Thursday night.

Gina Darlage with the city’s planning and zoning department said it was recommended Pardieck seek a variance instead of rezoning the property so if he sells it, it would revert back to C-1.

“We thought the board would rather kind of have its thumb on the property and what goes there,” she said.

Although not in city limits, the property is within the city’s two-mile fringe jurisdiction area.

Pardieck said he would like to start in the northwest corner of the property, which has a lower elevation. In the future, he wants to expand and have crushing and screening equipment on site in order to recycle and sell the materials.

After hearing opposition from several residents who live near the site and voicing their own concerns, the commission voted 8-0-1 to deny Pardieck’s request. Commission members Don Bruce and Jeri Wells were absent from the meeting.

City engineer Nathan Frey abstained from voting because he previously worked for the Indiana Department of Transportation, and Pardieck wants the site to be INDOT approved in order to be able to accept materials from state construction projects.

Pardieck said the state is going to need a place to take materials from the upcoming I-65 widening project scheduled to begin in the spring.

Stan Taskey, who lives near the site, said he would like to see the property remain as is but is not opposed to Pardieck’s proposal.

His biggest concerns are drainage and how the property will look.

“That’s the first thing people are going to see when they come into Seymour, and I’m going to look out my window and see big 10-foot, 20-foot stacks of concrete,” he said.

Kevin Beavers also is worried about how use of the property would impact drainage in his neighborhood. He said some of the property is located in the floodplain, and some is listed on the national inventory of wetlands.

“I’m not sure what the rules are for that as far as filling it in,” Beavers said. “I think somebody just needs to look at it a little closer before you say yes or no.”

Michael Bell, who also lives in the Heideman addition, said he was concerned with the noise and dust should the property be used as a fill site.

“You would think there would have to be a more favorable place,” he said.

Liz Brownlee of Crothersville works for Oak Heritage Conservancy which owns a nature preserve near Pardieck’s property.

Although she supports the idea of recycling materials, she also believes there has to be a better place for such a business.

Brownlee said flooding is an issue and the sandy soils on the property would lead to erosion. She also said the area would be limited in retention capabilities.

“The bottom line for me is that I hope you will look at the legal requirements and the soil realities of the property and maybe help find a site that is better suited right here in Seymour for doing something that is useful and environmentally minded,” she said.

She suggested it should be somewhere that already is zoned industrial such as in the Freeman Field Industrial Park.

Jill Halterman, another resident of Heideman Drive, said she is concerned with the potential increase in noise and dirt and dust in the air if the project moves forward because she has a young child with asthma and dogs that would bark.

She said small businesses are important, but so is the location.

Commission President Don Myers Jr. said he didn’t have enough information to vote in favor of Pardieck’s plans.

“I need a lot more from the environmental standpoint,” he said.

He also said he didn’t like the idea of having a dump site visible as people drive into the city.

“We’re trying to make Seymour look more appealing to corporations and to people to try to draw them in to help make Seymour grow,” he said.

Commission member Mike Jordan agreed and added that the project could have an adverse effect on surrounding property values.

“I don’t want that to be the gateway to Seymour,” Jordan said of the proposed fill site. “I think it’s adverse to our continued growth. We’ve worked so hard to put our best foot forward, and I think this would set us back if we did this.”

The request will go before the board of zoning appeals at 7 p.m. Tuesday for a final decision.

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