The Monroe County commissioners on Wednesday will consider amending the county zoning ordinance to allow for more local review of companies’ proposals to open waste transfer stations in the county.
The change is described as an interim solution to issues raised about the zoning of waste transfer facilities, sparked by a proposal from Indiana Green Transfer and Recycling.
The Monroe County Plan Commission voted 8-0 on Tuesday night, advising the commissioners to amend zoning classifications for remote garbage/rubbish removal and central garbage/rubbish removal facilities.
Such facilities would no longer be considered a permitted use in certain zoning districts — including light industrial, the current zoning for a parcel located at 2110 Angelina Lane that Bloomington-based Indiana Green and Transfer Recycling has proposed as the site for a waste transfer station.
“This is an interim fix that requires either of these (types of) facilities to go before a board of zoning for approval,” said Monroe County Planning Director Larry Wilson.
A zoning determination made in July states the proposed waste transfer station would be classified as a remote garbage/rubbish removal facility. This is currently a permitted use in the light industrial zone — that is, it would only require county planning staff review.
While Indiana Green Transfer and Recycling has filed for a permit from the state, it has not filed anything with the county planning department.
Monroe County Commissioner Julie Thomas said amending these zoning classifications would allow the county to pre-empt any filing that may come regarding potential waste transfer stations, including Indiana Green Transfer and Recycling’s proposal.
In addition, she said, the change would make the process more transparent, and allow for more public input on the appropriateness of such facilities in certain areas of the county.
Many plan commission members viewed the proposed change as one step to address the issue, short of rewriting the entire zoning ordinance. Wilson said a complete zoning ordinance rewrite is in the works that would clean up some of the language that allowed the issue to arise in the first place.
“It is an incremental change that goes a long way toward effecting a more perfect reality,” said plan commission member Margaret Clements.
The amendment would not alter other requirements for building a waste transfer station. These include obtaining permits from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the health department, installing fences and meeting setback requirements.
In fact, more requirements would be added to that list, including one stating that prior to applying for a conditional use permit, the petitioner must comply with a 2007 county ordinance. That ordinance states the Monroe County Solid Waste Management District must review the project and it must win approval by the county commissioners before the petitioner applies to IDEM for the required permits for a transfer station.
To read the full story, visit http://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/extra/news/plan-commission-recommends-zoning-amendments-for-waste-transfer-facilities/article_e2ff3dae-a195-5eea-b2cc-bc53e824e85a.html.