By JENNIFER TANGEMAN
City officials are looking to re-zone land near the new Walmart site to encourage further commercial development.
Stan Williams, the city-county planning director, said the city received a petition to re-zone three parcels north of where Lexington Road is to be extended. The current properties house River of Life Church and agricultural land.
“These properties are parallel to High Street, and they are proposing to re-zone it to allow commercial uses,” Williams said.
Changing districts would alter the area from a high-density residential area to a B3 business district consistent with the Walmart zoning. Williams said this would be the third re-zoning for the area behind the Logansport Mall.
Mayor Mike Fincher said officials needed to be mindful of the residents in the area.
“We have to be aware of the neighborhood and how the potential re-zone will effect that neighborhood,” Fincher said. “Folks have invested money in their homes, and none of them want stuff blowing into their yard or to see light intrusion and all of those things that sometimes happen with projects like this.”
Williams said a transition zone would help to buffer the commercial district from residential.
“We would develop a transitional area along High Street and Yorktown Road so those residents won’t experience the negative impact of commercial development,” Williams said.
He said the transition would include moving from a high-intensity commercial area to a lower intensity.
“Instead of just having a very sharp transition from commercial to single-family residential, there is a transitional zone there,” he said.
Williams said it was important to note that the re-zoning does not extend to High Street and would include no existing homes.
Skip Kuker, president of the Logansport-Cass County Economic Development Foundation, said the parcels of land to be re-zoned include the land where the city plans to extend Lexington Road. The majority of the road is being developed by Walmart on the store’s new site, but a small portion of the extension will be handled by the city.
Kuker said engineers were in the process of designing the city’s small part of the project and outlining costs.
He said he hoped the project’s timeline would coordinate with Walmart’s efforts to create the rest of the road. Maintenance of the road will be handled by the city.
Developing the strip of road and changing the district’s zoning category would both promote further development in the area, Williams said. He also noted that the changes are consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan that outlines goals for development in Logansport.
“It will help development back there and increase opportunities,” Fincher said. “But, we will need to be very concerned with neighbors on High Street and Yorktown Road when we do anything.”
A public hearing concerning the re-zoning is scheduled during the regular meeting of the Logansport Plan Commission on Dec. 14. The plan commission will then provide a recommendation to the city council, which will make the ultimate decision.
• Jennifer Tangeman is a reporter for the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at 574-732-5148 or jennifer.tangeman@pharostribune.com.
