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REGULAR MEETING October 8, 2018
<br /> Councilmember Oliver Davis asked, Can you clarify the types of business that will not be allowed
<br /> in Light Industrial that would have been allowed in General Industrial?
<br /> Ms. Smith replied, It will eliminate anything that would have a large amount of smoke, debris,
<br /> outdoor storage, auto wrecking and things of that nature. LI is really intended for things that will
<br /> happen inside a building with very limited, if any, outdoor storage.
<br /> Councilmember Oliver Davis then asked, If one (1) of those type of businesses were to come to
<br /> request that area, they would have to ask for zoning change?
<br /> Ms. Smith replied, They would either have to ask for a special exception or a zoning change,both
<br /> would have public hearings.
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden asked, So the reference to the heavy zoning in the plan, what does
<br /> that date back to?
<br /> Ms. Smith replied, That comes out of the City Plan which was a 2010 adoption. That was in
<br /> response to the already industrial nature of this area which is why when the petitioners came and
<br /> spoke to us that was the direction we gave them. They weren't interested in any specific use but at
<br /> the time we thought that was the best way to go. Then after more discussion and public feedback,
<br /> they agreed to go to the Light Industrial.
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden followed up, So even though it was out of the City,now that it is in
<br /> the City, we reference the City Plan?
<br /> Ms. Smith replied, Yes because we are looking at what the Comprehensive Plan calls for within
<br /> the City of South Bend because that is the ordinance.
<br /> Pat Primer, Attorney for Martin Blad Farms with offices located at 4100 Edison Lakes Parkway,
<br /> Mishawaka, IN, served as the petitioner. Ms. Primer stated, With me is Brent Burkus. He is the
<br /> grandson of Martin Blad and he is in charge of operations of the farm. First(1St)of all I would like
<br /> to say that, on behalf of the farm, they are in agreement to amend the petition to Light Industrial.
<br /> The intention right now is that there is no specific plan. The plan is to continue farming as they
<br /> have since the 1940s but they want to be open to opportunities recognizing that they have an area
<br /> that can open itself up to development. So if an opportunity arises,they want to be open to be able
<br /> to consider that opportunity.
<br /> This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and
<br /> opponents were given an opportunity to be heard.
<br /> Tim Corcoran, Director of Planning for the Department of Community Investment with offices on
<br /> the 14th floor of the County-City Building, South Bend, IN, stated, Good evening. Thank you for
<br /> this. I just wanted to speak a little bit about the property and how the City was approached by Blad
<br /> Farms to voluntarily annex into the City. This would be part of what would be a contiguous three
<br /> hundred fifty (350) acres of green field possibilities. There is access to heavy rail, access to the
<br /> US-31 bypass, and it represents a development potential that doesn't exist in other places in the
<br /> City. For instance, Ignition Park has about thirty (30) acres of remaining land available. Portage
<br /> Prairie, which is another Light Industrial area of the City, has parcels between ten (10) and thirty
<br /> (30)acres. So the opportunity here is actually quite unique in that we have up to three hundred and
<br /> fifty (350) acres of property which is perfectly located for this type of use. As Angela mentioned,
<br /> with the General Industrial and Light Industrial areas surrounding the site, it is basically ready for
<br /> development in terms of what is there. Some of the concerns brought up earlier this afternoon
<br /> involved drainage. One (1) of the things is that as development happens, drainage has to happen
<br /> on site. That is a requirement of all new development. So when a use chooses to go there at any
<br /> time, drainage must be addressed at that time to the satisfaction of the Engineering Department.
<br /> With that, I ask you to vote favorably for this rezoning.
<br /> Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, First(1St) of all, I would like to thank everyone involved this
<br /> afternoon for the discussion we had. We had three (3) different farming families that came before
<br /> us that shared their concerns. They have been in this area for a long while. The issue was at what
<br /> level we annex this in terms of zoning. I think this is a level that meets their needs at the same time
<br /> respecting the concerns of the neighbors. Any other development that happens there,there will be
<br /> public input. We will work together like that.
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