Ferdinand Plan Commission Reviews Wahl Lots, Zoning Updates

At their meeting this week, the Ferdinand Plan Commission revisited the proposed development of the Wahl lots and reviewed updates to the town’s zoning ordinances.

The Commission held an extensive conversation on the Wahl Lots, a specific group of platted, undeveloped real estate parcels located in Ferdinand. They are a major consideration for the Commission due to infrastructure and access issues. The lots are part of an older plat that includes streets that have been dedicated but are either unpaved or unopened. Essentially, they exist only on paper. The town is trying to determine the best way to manage the high costs of road construction and utility infrastructure to make the lots buildable. Some proposed options have included payment plans or cost-sharing with property owners.

This week, Ken Sicard sent an email that he described as a proposed policy for the discretionary development by the Town of Ferdinand of certain streets which were platted prior to 1993 and unimproved by the developer. Costs to convert a 2-black grass lot into a street were estimated at $250,000. At least 3-5% should be added annually to account for rising costs.

Unimproved lots are not eligible for Community Crossings Matching Grants, so these costs would be shouldered by property owners and the town. New curbs and gutters would add $54,000 for both sides of the street. Stormwater costs, which would be shared costs between the owner and the town, would be approximately $87,000. Sicard emphasized, “Streets are not cheap.”

Sicard also gave the Commission a detailed explanation of a new partnership with IncCodes. The contractual agreement was signed by Dubois Strong, which has agreed to pay expenses related to zoning reform across the county. IncCodes is a zoning and land use consulting firm, and will be working with Dubois Strong to complete a comprehensive zoning code review and modernization project. Currently, they are working with Jasper, Huntingburg and Ferdinand.

When the town recently completed its Comprehensive Plan, one of the more significant findings was that the zoning laws needed to be updated. Sicard said the expense was estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Dubois Strong has generously volunteered to pay for the updates, which they say will significantly streamline development projects and facilitate continued residential growth for the county.

A committee has been formed with representatives from Jasper, Huntingburg, and Ferdinand. Ken Sicard, Sharon Bohnenkemper, and Kyle Lechner are the committee members representing Ferdinand. An initial review of the town’s zoning laws has already been completed by IncCodes, and they sent feedback as well as questions that will facilitate the process moving forward. Once the ordinance is updated, it will be sent to realtors and developers.

One concept being explored is creating pre-approved plans for homes that follow local zoning laws. Other ideas include tiny homes and tornado-proof homes built from semi-trailers. These and other possible additions to the ordinance will be brought before the Commission over the next few months to obtain feedback on which ideas would receive support. The final report should be available from IncCodes by the end of October.

For more information on these and other updates, visit www.ferdinandindiana.org

- Drew Hasselbring