TERRE HAUTE —
Some Vigo County homeowners have formed a neighborhood association named POND and may file individual lawsuits over the location of two-story apartment buildings now under construction at Cobblestone Crossing, said Mike Poinsett, spokesman for the group.
Poinsett, a Woodgate homeowner, said the association — Preserving Our Neighborhood Developments — represents homeowners in Woodgate, Woodgate East, Woodgate South, Viscaya Point and Lakeview Estates subdivisions.
The group claims the northeast portion of the Cobblestone property along U.S. 41 South has not been properly rezoned from residential zoning into zoning for apartments. Residents attempted to compel the Vigo County Board of Commissioners in May and again on Tuesday to halt construction, which they say is too close to existing homes and was not part of an original plan.
The development was first approved in 2004 as a Planned Unit Development or PUD, listing commercial, residential, apartments, condos and a church as part of the development. PUD allows flexibility of uses originally approved.
Cobblestone in 2008 sought and was given approval from the Vigo County Area Plan Commission to reclassify a portion of its property from single family homes to apartment dwellings. County attorneys say the development is not in violation of the terms of an ordinance adopted in 2008.
Poinsett said he thinks the issue goes to 2005, when Jeremy Weir, executive director of the Vigo County Area Planning Department, used authority, as permitted by county ordinance, to make minor changes to an existing PUD individual zoning.
“However, to change to a different zoning classification, there has to be another staff review and send it to [the Plan Commission] and to county commissioners,” Poinsett said. Minor changes to an approved PUD cannot involve an increased intensity of land use and cannot adversely impact the purpose or intent of the zoning, he said.
Poinsett said going from residential to apartments “that absolutely is an increase in density and that is going to adversely affect all the single family homes around this development. It is clear, there is no way that [Weir] could consider that a minor change and should have done another staff review and gone before commissioners,” Poinsett said.
“We are asking commissioners to stop construction. They are building multi-story apartments which is not in the R-1 [residential zoning] classification. Stop construction and open this back up the correct way and let the neighbors be notified and have a say on what should abut our property.”
Commissioner President Michael Ciolli said county attorneys have stated the development was correctly approved. “If there is something, we have not found it,” Ciolli said, adding a decision on rezoning was made seven years ago,
Ciolli said commissioners are, however, looking at polices for future notifications for rezoning and procedures to rezone.
Telephone calls seeking comment were left at the office of Cobblestone Crossing, but were not returned as of Wednesday.
Weir said Wednesday that a preliminary plan was approved in 2004 and the Planned Unit Development finalized in 2005. That is when properties were platted and developed into apartments, car dealerships and a nursing home.
Weir said in late 2007 and early 2008, Cobblestone requested additional development permits, at which time, “We asked them to come in and do a modification to that Planned Unit Development via the rezoning process,” Weir said. “When it came around to 2008, we are like, look, you guys have used up all your apartment abilities and have not developed any of your condos. You need to bring this forward as modification in regards to the intensity of your uses and the designation of your lands,” Weir said.
The county approved zoning changes to the development in 2008.
Poinsett said homeowners are still seeking zoning changes for the development.
Poinsett said homeowners “did have an attorney engaged and we terminated our engagement with that attorney. We are now considering filling our individual lawsuits, all of the folks in Woodgate, because it seems like the more proper way to go.
“We can’t get a lawyer in town that will touch this case. Not because there is no merit to it,” Poinsett said. “There are no lawyers in Terre Haute interested in taking this case.”
When asked if they will seek an attorney outside of the county, Poinsett said, “We are leaving all of our options open. We are getting advice from several independent legal sources and we think that we are going to have enough advice to file our own lawsuits individually, not necessarily with an attorney,” Poinsett said.
Poinsett said he and other POND members will meet today with Weir and Joseph Etling, attorney for the Vigo County Area Planning Department, to discuss the zoning.
Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger @tribstar.com.
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