10-08-18 Zoning and Annexation - Laserfiche WebLink

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®CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK Snyder's property into the Kankakee River, which all those farmers have a really hard time to get the EPA, the DNR and the Army Corps of Engineers together to allow us to clean that river on a regular basis.If this is brought in as GI,more heavy industry can dump millions of gallons of water down the same ditch. We are already wet ground. This is some of the most fertile ground in St. Joseph County and with more water in the ditches, all it does is make it easier to flood. Last February we had record flooding. Most of that ground was under water for weeks. There is nothing we could do to stop the Ethanol Plant from dumping at that point and it created even worse drainage issues for our farms. Luckily that heavy rain we got in one(1)day didn't come in June or we would all be broke. It did come in February with the snow melt and it created tremendous damage to our ground which we saw all the way through the spring as it was not draining properly. Again, I'm opposed to the GI because we do not know what we might get. The other thing is, we have a beautiful new casino right across the road. Beautiful opportunities. We could make this a destination area and not a heavy industrial area. We could have more hotels, shops and something else there at that exit. Maybe this could have been the place South Bend Chocolate Factory built on. Maybe a water park. I don't know what the answers are. There is great possibility with the bypass but I think letting it go into GI will allow it for uses that shouldn't be. That is my take on this. I'm fine with Commercial because if something industrial came, they would have to come and rezone and we would have a chance to come back as neighbors to voice our concerns. This ground is developable. The bypass came through in the early 60s and we all had to struggle with the bypass cutting through. It chopped up fields and screwed up the drainage. We haven't sold for development as of yet. Maybe someday we will have to but we want a good overall plan best for the entire area. We have a beautiful new Martin's on Mayflower Road. We want to raise up the West Side to be more than a dirty industrial sight. I'm sorry to say but the Ethanol Plant doesn't help the looks of the West Side. It has been tremendous for us farmers but as far as looks and smell goes, it is a heavy industrial site. South Bend doesn't need that next to the new casino. We don't need any more water in our ditches. Thank you for your time. Chantelle Synder, 57537 Mayflower Road, stated, I am the President of Arthur Snyder Farms. I agree wholeheartedly with everything Mr. Matthys has said and I'm going to speak very briefly because I did address these issues before and I think they are part of the public record but our farm has been there since 1925. This is a perfect use for agriculture. I agree with Mr. Matthys that this area up for debate is very likely to be the next place developed, but why put industry there? I'm not ready to retire yet. That is fifteen(15) or twenty (20) years out but when I'm ready to retire, if I want to sell my farm, I don't want heavy industry adjacent to property that is going to pull down the value of my farm and the potential for the exchange at Mayflower and the Bypass to be developed in the future. I want to see the farming continue for as long as possible. This is very fertile ground and agriculture is the right use for the area. Obviously with the casino,development is heading that direction and maybe twenty (20) years down the road where my farm is, maybe that will be ready to be developed.But this will potentially damage my ability to see that developed in a good, profitable and responsible way if I've got industry right on the other side of the ditch to my farm property. If I've got heavy industry there, that is going to be damaging for my potential for developing in the future. In the present, we need to know what kind of industry is going to go in there. We need to know what they will put into the air,the water and how it will affect wildlife. I have foxes, hawks, turkeys, deer, coyotes and a variety of wildlife. What kind of damage could industry potentially do to all of those things? I brought these concerns forth at the meeting on September 18th, 2018 so I won't go back through all those details again. What you choose to do with this property now will have impact on my property, on Mr. Matthys' property and others in that direction as well that may not want to see industry go into this location. I totally agree that EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Bvld l South Bend,Indiana 466011 p 574.235.92211f 574.235.9173 I TTD 574.235.5567 j www.southbendin.gov 10