Council Okays Fitch Ave Rezone Request

Council Okays Fitch Ave Rezone Request

(Photo Courtesy: City of Batesville) (Batesville, IN) – Batesville City Council approved a request to rezone a parcel at 19 Fitch Avenue during a joint meeting with the Area Planning Commission this week. It was a continuation of a public hearing on the application, which was forwarded in August by the APC to City Council without a recommendation. “The applicant was requesting to have the parcel rezoned from its current R2-Residential 2 designation to R4-Resignation 4 designation under the zoning code,” said City Attorney Blaine Timonera. After councilmembers asked questions of planning commission members – and an ensuing discussion – council voted 4-0 to approve the rezone of the parcel. District 3 councilmember Beth Enneking was absent. In the lead up to the vote, neighbors expressed concerns about parking and maintaining the neighborhood’s character. “I believe the applicant’s intention is to turn that parcel into a multi-family housing unit,” Timonera said. “There was opposition and council took that seriously, took a lot of deliberation almost up to the statutory time for them to make a decision.” The request was on council’s agenda in both September and October but no action was taken due to the lack of a recommendation from APC. As a result, it was determined to hold this week’s joint hearing in order for the request to receive an up or down vote before the 90-day deadline.