2 Decisions Against Neighborhoods

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The opinions expressed in these articles and features are those of their author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of McANA or the opinion of its Directors or Officers.

2 Decisions Against Neighborhoods
by Cathy Burton
[President of McANA]

Recently, in less than a week, Marion County’s neighborhoods were trounced by public officials. On August 20, the Metropolitan Development Commission (by a vote of 6-3), bolstered by a pro I-69 stance by Mayor Peterson, voted to vivisect Perry Township by adopting the state’s plan to build a new freeway through the U.S 37 corridor into Marion County’s long range transportation plan. This in spite of the fact that not a single resident or business owner from Marion County, save a paid representative of the Chamber of Commerce, spoke in favor of this billion dollar travesty of good public policy at either MDC hearing. This in spite of the fact that 94 % of those responding to INDOT during the public comment period on this project said NO to a route that will devastate neighborhoods, destroy hundreds of acres of farm ground and environmentally sensitive land, and needlessly spend billions of our hard earned tax dollars. This in spite of the fact that elected officials from the state down to the township level spoke in opposition to I-69 plowing through the middle of the community.

Then, on August 25, the City County Council (by a vote of 17-9) approved a rezoning in Decatur Township which will cram intense commercial development onto an undersized parcel in an area where residents, and the City, have long fought to keep intrusive commercial uses from creeping into their decades old, stable, well maintained neighborhood. This in spite of the fact that the majority of residents who live in the most immediately impacted neighborhood adamantly opposed the rezoning. This in spite of the fact that the same uses for this property were rejected by the Council two years ago when there was more property available. This in spite of the fact that there is not even enough room on the site to build the required drainage system. This in spite of the fact that the City County Councilor representing this district opposed the rezoning. This in spite of the fact the development contradicted the land use recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan.

We cannot “build better neighborhoods” when it appears that those we trust to represent us hold the opinions of those neighborhoods in such disregard. So, in this year, when elected offices are up for grabs, and appointments to the deciding bodies are subject to change, perhaps the neighborhoods of Marion County need to go out of

their way to thank the public officials who listen the people who carry this community on their backs. And we definitely need to remember the names of those who don’t.

P.S. For those of you who want to remember who the good guys are, the public officials who voted in support of the neighborhoods in these issues were: Metropolitan Development Commissioners Harold Anderson, R.J. Smith, and Randall Snyder; and City County At Large Councilors Karen Horseman and Joanne Sanders (at large Councilors represent all of Marion County) and Councilors Phil Borst, Bob Cockrum, Beulah Coughenour, Bill Dowden, Sean Frick, Jackie Nytes, and David Smith.

Cathy Burton