TERRE HAUTE —
The Vigo County Board of Commissioners on Monday unanimously approved a rezoning that will allow construction of a new 9,100-square-foot Dollar General store at the corner of Springhill Drive and Indiana 63.
Commissioner Paul Mason moved to allow the rezoning, placing a restriction that it apply only for Dollar General and if the company moved out, the 2.5 acres of land would revert to its original zoning of residential.
Mason also sought to have a proposed entrance off of Indiana 63 shortened and moved north closer to the intersection. “I would like to see no entrance off of [Indiana 63], but don’t want to tie your hands completely,” Mason said, adding the entrance may not receive state approval.
“You might have just one entrance off of Springhill and may have to make that wider for a semi to turn around,” Mason said.
Hugh Hunt, an attorney representing Foster Builders Inc. of Sullivan, which will develop the building, said the Indiana 63 entrance would need the approval of the Indiana Department of Transportation and conceded that the entrance may not receive state approval.
The company will be required to retain existing trees along the south side of the property. In addition, the company stated it would build a wooden fence along the south side of the property. The store will have 38 parking spots and is to be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“Neighborhood friendly would be the main thing,” Mason said.
The store is to replace a Dollar General on Johnson Avenue that will close, Hunt said.
Commissioner Judith Anderson seconded Mason’s motion. Commissioner President Mike Ciolli made the vote unanimous.
The Vigo County Area Planning Department had issued a favorable recommendation for the rezoning. However, a motion last week to give a favorable recommendation for the rezoning failed 4-5 before the Area Plan Commission.
The Plan Commission forwarded the rezoning onto county commissioners without a recommendation.
The rezoning brought opposition last week and before commissioners on Monday, where five people spoke against the project. Among them was Jane Ann Taylor who said there are 23 empty nearby sites already zoned for commercial use that could be used instead of the proposed site. “Dollar General is an eye sore,” Taylor said.
She said allowing a turn off of Indiana 63 would simply add to the confusion of motorists coming near the busy Springhill intersection.
A petition with more than 300 signatures opposing the site was presented to commissioners. However, the signatures could not be verified as nearby county residents at the time of the meeting. Darren Maher, assistant director of the Area Planning Department, said after the meeting that the petitions should have been filed with the Area Plan Commission last week.
Laura Piper, a registered nurse, who with her husband and family, live near the proposed site, told commissioners that “Area Planning’s job is to protect residential property first.”
Piper said the retail business would decrease the property value of homes in the area by 15 to 20 percent.
She voiced concerns of loiters in the store’s parking lot, especially people waiting to visit inmates at the nearby federal penitentiary, as well as concerns of having a lighted sign on all evening. The company said a sign would be placed on a timer and be off when the store is closed.
After the vote, Piper stated she would move. “I am putting my house up for sale,” she said as she left the meeting room at the Vigo County Annex.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
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Board OKs rezoning over resident objections
Action opens door for new Dollar General
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