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Read comments (10)Future land use alternatives for the I-69 Corridor, for the town of Bloomfield and Greene County as a whole will be presented at the series of meetings slated for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The meetings will be for the review of the plans and to accept public comments.
The sessions are part of the $150,000 I-69 Planning Grant process that started earlier this year.
The Greene County Economic Development Corporation, Inc. is coordinating the planning efforts between the three Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) qualifying communities -- Greene County, town of Bloomfield and city of Linton with the guidance of consultants Bernardin, Lochmueller & Associates of Evansville.
The process is reviewing existing land use and also talking about future land use using sound economic principles, according to Greene County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Joan Bethell.
"The individual working groups put together the maps that will be available for review at each of the meetings," Bethell said.
The I-69 corridor plan -- which is roughly four miles in width running from the Daviess County line near Newberry through Scotland and Hobbieville to the Monroe County line near Cincinnati -- will be examined at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Eastern Greene Junior High School.
The town of Bloomfield's plan will be reviewed at a 6:30 p.m. meeting Wednesday at the Bloomfield Fire Station.
The plan for Greene County will be looked at during a 6:30 p.m. meeting Thursday at the Greene County Cooperative Extension Service community building at the fairgrounds.
Bethell said the informational meetings -- where public comment is solicited -- are key to the planning process in the eyes of the INDOT "so they know the county is preparing" for the inception of the new interstate highway.
"They want us to prepare pro-actively," Bethell said. "This process will preserve the rural integrity of our county. Now is the time to think about it. After the fact, you might not have a choice."
The seven-member I-69 Planning Grant Committee includes the following representatives: Bloomfield -- Dave Harding and Ron Corwin; Linton -- Brad McKinney and Chris Wathen; Greene County -- Steve Crowe and Garry Heshelman; and Bethell representing the GCEDC.
This committee will continue for the life of the I-69 grant as an executive committee to ensure continuing collaboration between all parties and to ensure the effective and timely completion of the project in accordance with all grant requirements.
Bethell said land use is only one component of the overall planning process.
A large committee with more than 60-members is working in four subcommittees -- Greene County Comprehensive Plan; Bloomfield Comprehensive Plan; I-69 Corridor; and Tourism.
The results of the entire planning process will be the completion of:
* Greene County Comprehensive Plan with a Tourism Strategic Plan component.
* Bloomfield Comprehensive Plan.
* I-69 Corridor Plan
Bethell outlined a tentative schedule for the adoption of the three plans.
Prior to adoption public hearings to detail each of the draft plans will be held during the week ending Dec. 20.
The Greene County Commissioners and Bloomfield Town Council will each need to create their own Advisory Plan Commission or jointly form an Area Plan Commission.
The city of Linton has already formed their Advisory Plan Commission as part of Linton's previous Comprehensive Plan development and adoption process.
The Greene County Comprehensive Plan is set for adoption about Jan. 6, 2009 by the county commissioners. The Bloomfield Comprehensive Plan is set for adoption by the Bloomfield Town Council on Jan. 7. Finally, the I-69 plan is scheduled for adoption about Jan. 20, 2009 by the GCEDC.
Ultimately, the Greene County Commissioners will make the final decision on whether a county plan commission will be formed, Bethell said.
Earlier this year, the commissioners voted to participate in the INDOT planning grant and with it comes a stipulation that comprehensive plans will be drafted for each of the participating grant communities.
Bethell acknowledges the notion of land use planning is controversial in the eyes of some in the community and is the reason that a political action committee, Citizens for Property Rights, was formed earlier this year.
She stressed that the planning grant and its components are not land use planning or zoning, however, they could lay the ground work for the establishment of an Area Plan Commission.
"The preparation of land use controls is not part of the I-69 Community Planning Grant. Once a local jurisdiction has adopted a comprehensive plan, it may prepare and adopt land use controls -- such as land use zoning regulations, subdivision control regulations, or thoroughfare plans," Bethell stated. "The exercise of land use controls remains a prerogative of the local legislative body (the county commissioners) and is not mandatory under any Indiana law."
Bethell said she and members of the Citizens for Property Rights group share differing opinions on the importance of planning for the future and how that might preserve individual property rights. She pointed out it will be key for residents on Nov. 4 to make informed decisions when they cast their votes for candidates on Election Day.
"If the county decides not to pursue it (land use planning) you're going to have to deal with the consequences in the years to come," she added.
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I heard that there was only about 6-10 people at these meetings.
Where was everyone at...?
To American Pride and all the rest who oppose Zoning...the "Z" word.
Then...absolutely...you should stand up, be present at this meeting and let your voice be heard. Maybe we don't need zoning in Greene County...maybe we are not ready for it.
But....just because a community doesn't have zoning...does not mean that they should not plan for their future.
Planning is not Zoning...they are 2 different things. They can be related, but one can exist without the other.
Let's get it straight people....this is an important one to get right.
I am very sorry to be the bearer of bad news...but the "it aint broke til it needs fixin" does not work with communities.
If you do not plan for your retirement, you will end up with nothing to support you when you cannot work any longer.
Likewise, If you do not plan for the future of your community, it will not be able to support the future population and remain competitive with other communities for jobs, healthcare, social services, transportation infrastructure, utility infrastructure, etc...
Our community's leaders cannot just sit on their laurels and wait for things to change on their own!
If this has worked for Greene County in the past, then why don't we have better jobs or enough jobs at all, better paved roads, new business investment, improved access to social services, improved local healthcare systems, etc...???
If I am not mistaken...Greene County has some problems.
If you do what you have always done, then your gonna' get what you've always got!
It doesn't get any clearer than that...
I say we plan not to plan, that way we will have a plan when in the future we need the plan that we don't have.
Every "definition" below will cost someone money....
How much have you paid already?
My land in Greene County is the only thing that I own (unless I don't pay my taxes) that the government cannot control (for the most part).
This is very sad...
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jest my 2 cents worth, non-taxable(for now)
Each of the points made thus far are great considerations as Greene County prepares for I-69. These are truly the things that Greene Countians need to be thinking about...
The entire reason for the Grants provided to conduct these studies is to flush these public concerns out into the forefront of the community discussion and to try to figure how the County, Bloomfield, and even Linton will prepare to address these concerns or not address these concerns. (It is the choice of the local legislative body.)
Hats off to those who have been involved and shared their opinions!
Getting people thinking and talking is an important part of what has been going on over the past couple of years!
But let us not get lost in the vocabulary, the "isms", and opposition to things we hear might happen (remedies) as a result. I have included some vocabulary definitions to provide additional understanding:
1. Planning - Thinking about the future, identfying what can, should, or might be done in the future as we move forward.
2. Comprehensive Planning Process - Preparation of a document that takes a look at the big picture of a community or county relying on factual data (census data is one example) and heavy input from the public, community leaders, local businesses, and other concerned parties within the community or county.
3. Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee - A group of individuals that help to gather information, provide valuable input, and shape the development of a community/county plan. (They are not a decision-making body; only advisory during the planning process.)
4. Comprehensive Plan - A document that becomes a guidebook for the future of a community or county. This document frames the picture of the present and identifies the concerns and "potential" remedies for those concerns as you move into the future. (This document should help the local legislative body make better informed decisions, of all types...not just those associated with land, but also Economic Development, Tourism, Community Marketing, Social Services, Public Safety, Employment, Education, or any other concerns of local residents or leaders.)
5. Corridor Plan - A document that becomes a guidebook for a specific roadway corridor. This document frames the picture of the present corridor and identifies the concerns and "potential" remedies for those concerns as you move into the future.
6. Land Use - How a particular parcel/tract/lot of land is being used currently. (Example: If it is currently a farm, then the land use of that property is agricultural.)
7. Land Use Controls/Land Use Ordinances - Specific ordinances passed by the "local" legislative body (town/city council or county commissioners) to control the way that land is used so that the effects of those uses do not negatively affect the land uses upon adjacent parcels/properties. (Example: Drainage Requirements within New Subdivisions so that certain lots/basements don't get flooded in the future.)
8. Zoning - The establishment of zoning districts within a community or county.
9. Zoning District - A defined area of similar allowable land uses within a community or county.
10. Zoning Ordinance - An ordinance that describes the zoning districts within a community or county specifically describing what types of land uses are allowable within each district.
11. Plan Commission - A body that uses both an adopted Zoning Ordinance and any other adopted Land Use Control Ordinances to make informed decisions about future development and other local improvements.
This is new territory for Greene Countians and becoming educated about these different terms/vocabulary is important in understanding what is going on.
One last note...A failure to plan is a plan to fail...so in short, we must absolutely and agressively plan for the future of Greene County....HOWEVER, it will be up to the local legislative bodies to decide what remedies will be undertaken address any potential potential or emminent effects upon the current quality of life of the residents.
My advice for all residents is to be informed...learn the facts...and vote for local legislators that you believe will support your concerns.
Farm subsidies are one of the main reasons that small farmers in Greene Co. cannot compete in a globalized market. These subsidies do not help small farmers. Look at the people on the top of the list - these are large mono-cropping, grain operations that have either bought out the small farms in Greene County, or rent their ground when the small farmers can no longer afford to produce crops. Subsidies do not help the small farmer. They are like the carrot in front of the donkey: they are meant to pull you in the direction the driver wants you to go - in this case, the USDA.
Government subsidies were purposely and solely designed in the late 1960s and 1970s by the chief agro-economist at the USDA to create a surplus of grain (particularly corn), thence driving down the market price for use by the industrial food complex in the US and abroad. The guiding goal of the program was to 'industrialize' the American food production system and 'bring it into the modern age'. In response to questions about what this would do to small farmers, the head of the USDA simply said that they would "have to get big or get out."
Well, I could go on for hours about this subject, but I'll get off my soap box now. Needless to say, I'm not happy about that government program either...
The farm subsidies being paid in to Greene County are quite interesting…
http://farm.ewg.org/farm/top_recips.php?...
God help us if all that land continued to be used for agriculture as it has for the past two hundred years. If we're lucky, maybe they'll take all those land-wasting farms and make one continuous industrial park all the way from Evansville to Indianapolis.
As for Family Farms comment about the lack of money to build I-69, I'm sure that our state government will be happy to sell the rights to all that land to foreign nations to raise the funds (i.e., Major Moves). Don't think that we will get a say in it either - didn't a majority of the state poplation vote against a time change only to have the governor change it anyway?
As for the Economic Development Council, there aren't any jobs in Greene County because government policies made it impossible for a small farmer to make a living competing against the industrial/corporate complex. I don't suppose they would like to do something to address that???
Bothell says: "The preparation of land use controls is not part of the I-69 Community Planning Grant."
Then why is there a meeting about Land Use Planning if it is not a part of this grant? Double talk as usual as the power mongers jam I-69 down our throats.
The real planning that Greene County residents had better be preparing for is the tolls they will have to pay to drive on I-69. There is NOT money to complete I-69 between Evansville and Crane, yet alone to Indianapolis, yet we are spending money on planning for something we don't want or need.
Just how does Joan Bothell think that we can maintain any resemblance of the "rural integrity of the County" with I-69 diagonally bisecting the County, and truck-stops polluting the air we breathe? Greene County residents will pay a very dear price for "economic development".
"""If the county decides not to pursue it (land use planning) you're going to have to deal with the consequences in the years to come," she added."
She didn't bother to mention the consequences of pursuing it, such as having to get a permit to put an American flag in your front yard...