Areas rezoned for residential purposes at Logansport Plan Commission meeting

May 15—Two areas of Logansport were approved to be rezoned for different residential levels during Monday's Logansport Plan Commission meeting.

In addition, plans for a retention pond behind an upcoming gas station were briefly discussed.

Resolution 24-06 asked to rezone approximately 1.83 acres from Open Space to Medium Density Residential at 1317 Melbourne Ave. This resolution was approved by the commission.

The area is currently used as Melbourne Park, which is one park on the Park Department's surplus list, Planning Executive Director Arin Shaver told the commission. The surrounding land is also zoned as Medium Density Residential, with many of the area being single family homes on smaller lots, according to the comprehensive plan presented to the commission.

The most desired use for the area would be single family residential. The plan also says that even if the area were to stay a park, there would be more traffic and noise created than if it were to be developed as residential. However, Shaver told the commission that the park would not be razed at this time.

"The park can stay as a park," Shaver told the commission. "Even though it's rezoned, parks are allowed in any district so it would be if something were to be redeveloped in that area, it would be the same as the rest of the neighborhood."

1 General St. rezoned

Resolutions 24-07 and 24-08 asked to rezone 12.52 acres at 1 General St. from Light Industrial to High Density Residential. Resolution 24-08 was presented separately for a map change for the Future Land Use map, which suggested the site be changed from Light Industrial to Traditional Neighborhood, according to the comprehensive plan.

1 General St. used to be the site of the Trelleborg Automotive plant, which was torn down in 2012. The site has also been undergoing cleanup due to contaminants being found in 2014.

"We did do a rezone previously along Washington [Street], but at that time, we talked about putting some solar and different things on this site that the city owns," Shaver said to the commission. "Since that time, that is no longer being looked at and so we want to rezone it so that Light Industrial isn't in that neighborhood. The railroad kind of blocks it off from Water Street, which is more industrial."

According to the comprehensive plan, the large lot provides an opportunity to provide separation between the industrial zoned area to the north and the single family homes along Washington Street. Listing the area as High Density Residential could allow for a mix of multi-family apartments, attached single family, duplexes and then finishing out with single family along Washington, the plan says.

"I like it. [I've been] watching them clean it up for quite some time," commission member Greg Toth said at the meeting. "This is a good place for us to put apartments. It'll help the neighborhood, it'll help a property that really wouldn't have had anything done on it had we not cleaned it up its environmental issues."

Both parts of the resolution were approved by the commission.

Retention pond approved

While this item had already been approved by the Development Plan Review Committee, the commission also reviewed and approved the minutes for a retention pond on the site of 1001 Wheatland Ave. for a future gas station/convenience store. It was formerly the site of another gas station.

Shaver said there will be a new gas station going in that site, but the brand has not been decided. She said Logansport Utilities requested the pond in case there was a spill so the water does not go straight into the system.

"But it won't hold water, it'd just be there in case there's an overflow," Shaver said. "So, there's no fencing or anything around it, it's just kind of a little dip in the ground."