The Marshall County Commissioners opened a public hearing Monday morning on the subject of a zoning change in the Burr Oak area in Union Township. The property is on the south side of the railroad tracks and it is currently zoned Agriculture-1. The rezoning request was to move it to Industrial-2 for heavy industrial operations.
George Hopple owns the property and on that property there are several piles of brush and yard waste, tires, shingles, and several heaps of broken concrete – some with rebar and some with no rebar. Marshall County Plan Director Ty Adley said Hopple’s purpose for the property is to crush the concrete and asphalt shingles at the site, and repurpose the yard waste into usable material.
George Hopple also owns property at 17036 Tamarack Road in the Culver zoning jurisdiction. The Culver Town Council members took action in December to order Hopple to clean up the property within a certain timeline. If the deadline is not met, Culver town officials will take further action and clean up the property with costs and fees to be paid by the property owner.
During Monday’s public hearing, Adley explained that the Technical Review Committee (TRC) and the Marshall County Planning Commission found that Hopple’s proposed use does not comply with the comprehensive plan, doesn’t fit with the location of the project or responsible use. The enforcement action at his Culver address was also considered. It was suggested that Hopple go to the Board of Zoning Appeals to go through the Special Use Variance process with conditions that the BZA deems fit.
Members on both the TRC and the Planning Commission recommended the denial of the zoning change.
Hopple noted that he wanted to only move the recycling items to the Burr Oak property and keep operations of his business out of his Culver residence. He admitted that he’s been working on cleaning up the property, but it’s not at the pace at the satisfaction of Culver officials.
No other comments were presented during the public hearing.
The commissioners unanimously approved to uphold the recommendation of the TRC and the Planning Commission to deny the zoning request.
