The proposed Uniontown zoning districts are separated by highway commercial districts in the pink, industrial in the red and residential zoning in the blue. The county redevelopment commission plans to see development growth in the area once the wastewater project is completed. The Jackson County Plan Commission met last Tuesday at the courthouse in Brownstown to discuss amending the zoning ordinances.
Submitted map
BROWNSTOWN — Members of the Jackson County Plan Commission and other county officials believe the addition of a sanitary sewer system in the Uniontown area will make it a hotbed for development in the next five to 10 years.
During a recent plan commission meeting at the Jackson County Courthouse, board members discussed proposed changes to zoning ordinances and map amendments pertaining to industrial and highway commercial zoning districts along areas adjacent to Interstate 65 at Exit 41.
This discussion follows the idea about the potential for development of that area due to the proposed wastewater collection project in the area. The multi-million-dollar project will use a combination of lift stations and gravity flow to carry waste approximately 7 miles to the north at Lake Leslie. From there, the waste would be carried through Seymour to the city’s wastewater treatment plant on the far west side.
The original plan for the Uniontown project called for a wastewater treatment plant to be built southwest Uniontown, but that idea has since been dropped because of the cost of building and maintaining a plant, environmental regulations and other reasons.
The intersection at Exit 41 in Uniontown has been undeveloped for years because of the lack of a sanitary sewage system large enough to serve commercial/industrial businesses.
County Building Commissioner Conner Barnette said once the municipal sewer system is added, the belief is there will be rapid development along both the east and west sides of I-65.
With that in mind, the Jackson County Redevelopment Commission and the Jackson County Board of Zoning Appeals are addressing current zoning ordinances in that area with possible amendments to ordinances to reflect what kind of businesses the county would like to see.
Garmong Construction Services is the consultant for the project. Joe Murphy, an economic development specialist with the Terre Haute-based company, presented the proposed development and proposed ordinances for that area to the nine-member plan commission.
Barnette, who sits on the redevelopment commission and is spearheading the project for the county, said he envisioned Exit 41 to be similar to the I-65 exit at Walesboro but with more commercial activity close to the nearby intersection of U.S. 31 and State Road 250 and industrial business to the north and south of State Road 250.
“We spent a lot of time in Uniontown discussing the development plan to make sure this project and the investment that the county in making is protected,” Barnette said. “The last thing we want is for a project of this magnitude to be done and then be filled with four or five gas stations, flea markets or unsightly businesses. We are trying to get ahead of that through amending some of the zoning ordinances.”
Murphy said the millions of dollars that are going to be invested in the sewer system project through the READI grant, American Rescue Plan funds and public dollars will monumentally transform that intersection for decades and generations to come. The county has set aside $10 million for the first phase of the project to provide services for areas zoned commercial or light industrial.
“Hopefully through your approvals, we will be able to establish these zoning ordinances and land use maps so that this investment is protected for the future and something this community can be proud of and not ashamed of,” Murphy said.
The sewer system project will be able to serve around 800 acres of development that will be able to support commercial and industrial businesses.
Among the proposed amended ordinances Murphy discussed involved implementing a highway commercial zoning district to areas adjacent to the I-65 corridor and surrounding areas.
Murphy said this district will consist of businesses that will be supported by those coming off of the interstate.
As for the industrial businesses along the north and south of the thoroughfare, the ordinances will reflect light manufacturing businesses.
“When I get off that I-65 interchange, I want to see nice brick facades and businesses that people will identify and know that they are clean.” Murphy said. “We want to see the same for our industrial businesses, nice brick or masonry exteriors. We don’t want factories with smokestacks or concrete plants. They are not going to be eyesores.”
Murphy said the language of these proposed zoning ordinances will force developers to comply with the standards that the county wants to see.
“If they want to spend their money in Jackson County, they are going to have to come up to our standards of development,” he said.
According to the proposed amended ordinances for the highway commercial district, a minimum 15-foot landscaped strip along the front right of way must be included along with the front setback requirement.
The applicant also must provide a preliminary architectural plan that includes a conceptual floor plan and a rendered or artistic drawing of the proposed landscape, parking, signs and all other exterior amenities.
The zoning ordinances also include lot coverage requirements. Those include dedicating a spot for greenspace, facade standards, such as brick and masonry materials and window and public entrance standards. Signage requirements and restrictions also are stated within the proposed amended ordinances.
Similar lot and building requirements also apply to the industrial district with the intent to meet aesthetic and design quality to promote a thriving thoroughfare.
As the sewer project continues, there has been discussion with landowners in the area regarding the land needed for the project.
Barnette and Murphy both said landowners will be given options and will be well compensated for their land.
“It is everybody’s interest that those landowners are compensated fairly for their land. There isn’t going to be a situation where we put a landowner in a position where they are not going to receive more than two or three times what their land is valued for,” Murphy said.
Murphy also said the land use map is likely to change in the future, giving an example that a farm will remain a farm until it is under new ownership.
“It will not be subject to those standards of ordinances until there is new ownership,” he said.
Barnette added the proposed changes will not affect anyone’s taxes currently, but as the area continues to develop and the land use changes, then taxes are likely to change.
“We have been in discussions with the landowners to make sure everyone is on board, and once this sewer system is in place, I can see this area taking off,” Barnette said.
With this mass rezoning change, two public hearings will be conducted before the county commissioners adopt the ordinance changes.
The plan commission will meet June 20 at 7 p.m. at the Jackson County Courthouse in Brownstown for more discussion, and depending on how the meeting goes, a date for a public hearing may be decided that night.