JC Council changes zoning from R-1 to I-1

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JACKSON CENTER — Jackson Center Council held a public hearing Monday regarding the rezoning of the 50.544 acres of land that was recently annexed to the village. Anytime a parcel of land more than 5 acres is annexed to the village it comes in classified as residential (R-1). The land in question is the proposed new building site for a new manufacturing facility to be constructed by Airstream Trailers Inc. and must be re-zoned as industrial (I-1) before all land transactions are completed.

Mayor Scott Klopfenstein asked village Zoning Officer Ed Maxwell if there had been any feed-back concerning the change in zoning. Maxwell said he had not received any feedback from the public save one landowner next to the annexed land that had asked some questions about the zoning process in general.

“We sent out notifications to everyone who owned property next to the annexed land, even those whose properties only touched on the corners notifying them of our intent. There were eight property owners involved and they all had ample time to ask questions or attend this meeting. They all seemed to understand the process and so at this point since there are no objections or problems we need to move on the situation,” Maxwell said.

“Basically you are acting on an application for a zoning map amendment submitted by the village requesting a change in zoning classification of the 50.544 acres that was recently annexed to the village from R-1 Single Family Residential to I-1 General Industrial District,” said Maxwell. “The Planning Commission met regarding this issue on March 26 recommended the annexation and also recommended it be rezoned to I-1.

“Notices of our intent were sent out on April 6 and the proposal was also published in the Sidney Daily News on April 7,” he said.

Klopfenstein then asked council if they had any questions or comments, and seeing there were none asked for a motion to suspend the required three reading rule to allow voting on the ordinance. Councilman Ken Gloyeske made a motion to suspend the three reading rule and the motion received a second from Councilman Jesse Fark, the motion passed unanimously. Council then voted unanimously to pass the ordinance changing the zoning from R-1 to I-1.

Maxwell thanked council for helping to get the motion passed in a timely manner and later noted it was needed to keep the ball rolling.

“Getting the zoning changed was the last hurdle big required before taking the next step toward making the Airstream project a reality,” he said.

“The village has sold the land to the CIC (Community Improvement Corporation) which, in turn, can now sell it to Airstream seeing all the necessary preparations have been made. Airstream wanted the land to be zoned industrial I-1 before signing the final purchase agreement; now all that remains is getting the CRA (Community Reinvestment Area) tax exemption ironed out which should not be a problem as it has been approved for other businesses in the past. This is a great step in the right direction, I’m glad to see so many people working together for the betterment of our village and county,” Maxwell said.

In other business council also passed ordinance 2018-021 which approved the purchase of 0.762 acres more or less from NK Telco Inc. for the purpose of constructing a new electrical substation, the project is currently open for bids.

The property is located on the north side of Jackson Center along state Route 65, just north of Jerry Drive. The old substation is still functional but will eventually need repairs or updated so the decision was made to replace it with an improved version that will provide better service and an uninterrupted power supply.

Village Administrator Bruce Metz noted the new substation construction is justified and now is the time to make the necessary changes.

“The old system has served us well, our Electrical Superintendent Dave Overman and our electrical crew has done a fabulous job maintaining our system but we are a growing community and with growth comes change. This new substation will provide better more reliable service, we will be able to designate power to specific areas of need whether it be residential or industrial. We will continue to use the old system in conjunction with the new one when completed but when to time comes to eliminate the old substation we will be ready,” Metz said.

Jackson Center Village Administrator Bruce Metz points out recently annexed land that will have zoning changed from R-1 Residential to I-1 Industrial for the purpose of preparing for the proposed new Airstream Inc. manufacturing facility. His presentation was made at a previous council meeting.
http://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2018/05/web1_Bruce-Metz-1.jpgJackson Center Village Administrator Bruce Metz points out recently annexed land that will have zoning changed from R-1 Residential to I-1 Industrial for the purpose of preparing for the proposed new Airstream Inc. manufacturing facility. His presentation was made at a previous council meeting. Matt Clayton | Sidney Daily News

By Matt Clayton

For the Sidney Daily News

The writer is a regular contributor to the Sidney Daily News.

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