GOSHEN — If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Goshen businessman Kevin Martin will put that famous proverb to the test next Thursday when he comes before the Elkhart County Plan Commission to try and have his controversial wood recycling business moved to a new location.
Martin is owner of Martin Animal Bedding, 21918 Ind. 119, Goshen, a wood grinding operation established in 2007, which takes in and processes wood fiber waste material into animal bedding for use by local farmers.
Due to his location in an agriculturally zoned area, Martin was required to operate under a three-year special use permit granted by the Elkhart County Board of Zoning Appeals in November 2008.
With that permit set to expire in November 2011, Martin attended the BZA’s October 2011 meeting to request that his special use permit be renewed. BZA members would eventually choose to deny Martin’s request, however, siting factors including repeated permit compliance issues and noise and dust complaints by neighbors as the rationale behind their decision.
Faced with the prospect of having to close or relocate his business, Martin chose to appeal the BZA’s decision through Elkhart County Superior Court III, calling the denial “arbitrary, capricious and otherwise an abuse of discretion.” A court date for that appeal is currently pending.
In addition to the appeal, Martin was also able to secure an emergency stay of enforcement through the court system which will allow him to continue operating at his current location until Feb. 17, at which time a judicial review will be held to determine whether he will be able to continue operating under the stay until the appeal process concludes.
However, even with that ongoing appeal process and the approved emergency stay, Martin has in recent weeks been very vocal about his desire to relocate his operation to a more suitable location that will get him out of the crosshairs of the BZA.
“We’re planning to move the operation to a different location, and the reason for the appeal is just to buy us a little time so we can stay in operation until we find a new place,” Martin said of his plans for the business. “The thing with this business is, you’ve got to get yourself somewhere where there’s nobody around, because there’s a lot of noise, truck noise, and dust from the grinding, and that tends to upset people.”
And according to Elkhart County Zoning Administrator Ann Prough, moving his business is exactly what Martin plans on doing, as he is currently slated to go before the Elkhart County Plan Commission next Thursday to try and get his operation moved to his father’s property at 65448 C.R. 17, Goshen.
Will it be enough?
While acknowledging Martin’s desire to make good with the BZA by relocating his business, Prough said it’s unclear at this time whether the Plan Commission will vote in favor of Martin’s petition due in large part to the close proximity of the two properties.
At less than two miles apart, Prough noted that the 65448 C.R. 17 property is still located in an agriculturally zoned area — one of the biggest issues facing Martin’s current property.
“His business is an intense use, and it would still be in an agricultural zone,” Prough said. “It’s generally the staff’s opinion that this type of business should be in an industrial zone.”
Elkhart County Planning Manager Mark Kanney agreed.
“That’s what I’m sure the staff’s direction will be,” Kanney said of Prough’s prediction. “It’s the same business, just down the street, and we feel it’s an industrial use in an agricultural zone. So in my opinion, no, it’s not a better location.”
The Elkhart County Plan Commission will meet at 9 a.m. Thursday in meeting rooms A and B of the Department of Public Services, 4230 Elkhart Road, Goshen.
Local News
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