A passionate audience of Lanesville residents persuades commissioners to deny zoning change, thwarting effort to build affordable housing…
graylin porter - reporter
Last night the Harrison County Commissioners reviewed a request for a zoning change for multiple properties in Lanesville. Many Lanesville residents attended this meeting with some sitting on the floor in the conference room and filling the hallway outside.
The majority of the meeting was dedicated to a request for a 50 acre plot at Corydon Ridge Rd, Country Lane, and Crandall Lanesville Rd. The request was to change this plot from AR to R3 with the intention of building an apartment complex with 240 units by Lanesville Property LLC.
The commissioners opened up the meeting to the public to voice their opinion on these changes, limiting residents to three minutes. Before the first citizen spoke, commissioner Jim Heitkemper stated that “it probably will get approved, but if anyone wants to speak on that, they could.” However, after an hour of comments, Jim Heitkemper made a motion to deny the request, leaving it as AR, stating that he values “conserving the historical and cultural design of the natural heritage around Franklin Township and Harrison County…I know what Harrison County should look like and this is what we’re after.”
Nearly every resident that spoke at the podium received an applause from the audience. Lifelong Lanesville resident Devin Lopp’s statement summarized many: “you guys were elected as public servants to serve the citizens of this county, you have a room full of citizens that do not want R3 housing in their district, please listen to that.”
Multiple speakers expressed fear of increased crime and decreased property values if an apartment complex is built in Lanesville. Barry Purcell, resident on Corydon Ridge road, commented that “a nice development? Sure. Put a nice development in there, make it nice. I’d love to have Norton Commons nice here in Lanesville, but I doubt if that’s going to happen, but all those apartments like Kepley Estates in New Salisbury? It’s ridiculous, it’s absolutely ridiculous and we don’t need it in Lanesville…we don’t need it in Harrison County.”
Another major issue for several residents was the overcrowding of Lanesville schools.
All three commissioners voted to deny the request.