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Discussions on housing, including increased requests for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), were brought up during a joint housing meeting Friday with Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals members.
Per House Enrolled Act 1001, the local entities are required to hold a public meeting to discuss housing-related matters. Approximately 20 people attended the meeting, representing various small towns in Kosciusko County and the county's Housing Coalition, led by Habitat for Humanity.
Prior to opening the floor for public comment, the attending BZA and APC members discussed each agenda item. Panelists included Tom Moore, Matt Goodnight, Jim Moyer, Joe Irwin and Larry Coplen for APC; Dan Richard and Randy Cox for BZA; Lee Harman, who serves as APC president and BZA chairman; and Matt Sandy, Area Plan director.
Sandy noted everyone present was fully aware housing is an issue countywide, and no policy or ordinance changes were on the table since it was a discussion-based meeting.
ADUs
Sandy said accessory dwelling units are typically second houses on a property. Currently, county ordinance allows one principal structure per tract of ground. Any additional residences require approval from the BZA.
Irwin said with ADUs, he wanted to see more direction and better guardrails for the allowance of second residences on land tracts.
"What you have is you've backed Area Plan into a corner, because that house is there," said Irwin. "They come to us to rezone, what are we supposed to do? It's a permanent structure. And if we do rezone it, especially if it's in a rural area ... how do you tell a neighbor, 'Okay, now you can't do it.' You're setting a standard in that area."
Harman noted there's tension that exists in protecting agricultural land for ag purposes versus residential.
"Many of the cases that come to the BZA involve people who have exhausted their permitted selloff, and now they want to create an Ag 2 (district) so they can put another structure on there, and that impacts farmland, and we're losing on average ... 50 acres of farmland across the country every day," said Harman. "So, it's a problem for us, when we look at that, there's that tension there."
Moyer said he believed there should be more restrictions on the square footage and possible reductions for the number of requests they receive.
Irwin asked if it was possible to rezone a partial tract, and Sandy said that's always a possibility.
Duplexes/Sewer
Providing for higher density development of duplexes and reducing lot sizes for residential lots on sewer were also brought up at the meeting.
Irwin said he didn't believe there was much use for duplexes in agricultural areas. Moyer expressed support for them so long as they're not creating more parcels and have appropriate language within any ordinances.
"I think some of it is the desire and demand of the public, whether it's a senior living area with multiple duplexes within one particular neighborhood," said Goodnight. "But if the demand's out there and a developer builds that, that's their property and that's what the public wants."
The board members noted most small towns' lot sizes are much smaller compared to the minimum lot size, which is 10,000 square feet. Moore and Moyer agreed smaller lot sizes are needed in order to help those wanting starter homes.
"I think anytime sewer is available, you should attempt to maximize what type of housing you can get out of it," said Richard. "Sewer is the key. If sewer extends to the north of Warsaw, development will go north of Warsaw."
Parking/Mixed Use
Parking requirement revisions and mixed use in corporate areas were also agenda items discussed by board members. The panelists were in agreement that the current ordinance, which states two parking spots are allowed per residential housing unit, could be left alone.
Moore said a more streamlined process for mixed use development would be beneficial, using the town of Leesburg as an example of former retail buildings being placed back into use.
Public Comment
Kosciusko County Commissioner Cary Groninger said the whole reason the state was requiring housing meetings was due to an affordability crisis.
"I think when we look at our population growth in Kosciusko County, we're not where I would like us to be," said Groninger. "We have 14 communities, 10 of which have lost population. It's a serious problem. We need to look at how we encourage housing to happen in these small communities where the infrastructure is already there."
Ben Logan, Habitat for Humanity's executive director and leader of the Kosciusko County Housing Coalition, said the coalition could serve as a convener of focus groups to discuss issues further. He emphasized the importance of small-town development, referencing the possibility of Claypool Elementary School closing its doors.
Bill Smith, who serves on the Housing Coalition and Habitat's board, said he moved to the area from Oregon and asked the board members to consider zero lot lines.
Milford Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall said a trend that's happening in Milford involves residents purchasing mobile home lots and using them to build small houses. She also stated mixed use would help protect downtown areas.
Heather Reichenbach, vice president of community engagement for the Kosciusko County Community Foundation, also emphasized the importance of the Housing Coalition, noting multiple members were present at the meeting.
To conclude the meeting, Sandy said this was only the beginning of more discussion to come and that the housing meetings would help be a good practice for the APC and BZA to re-evaluate ordinances.
