February 21, 2008

Planning & Zoning

WELLS COUNTY AREA PLAN COMMISSION
The Wells County Area Plan Commission (APC) serves all of Wells County except the Wells County part of Markle (which is served by the Huntington County Plan Commission). The Wells County APC serves the entire town of Zanesville (including both the Wells and Allen County portions).
The office is located in the Wells Carnegie Government Annex, 223 West Washington St., Bluffton 46714, phone 824-6407.
Michael Lautzenheiser Jr. is the APC Director/GIS Coordinator. Becky Longenberger is the administrative assistant.
Members of the Wells County Area Plan Commission include:
William Horan (president), home phone 824-0626, work phone 824-6412 (on APC by virtue of his office as County Extension Agricultural Agent).
Mark Shaffer (vice president), home phone 346-2187 (appointed by the Wells County Board of Commissioners through Jan. 1, 2012).
Deb Charleston (appointed by Uniondale Town Council for a 4-year term through Jan. 1, 2010).
Harry Baumgartner, home phone 565-3366 (appointed by Vera Cruz Town Council for a 4-year term through Jan. 1, 2012).
Angie Dial, home phone 622-6159 (appointed by the Ossian Town Council for a term through Jan. 1, 2012).
Mike Morrissey, home phone 824-4067 (appointed by Bluffton City Council for a 4-year term through Jan. 1, 2010).
John Schuhmacher, home phone 638-4918 (appointed by the Zanesville Town Council for a 4-year term through Jan. 1, 2010).
Finley Lane, home phone 694-6535 (appointed by the Poneto Town Council for a 4-year term through Jan. 1, 2012).
Joe Langel, home phone 694-6504 (appointed by the Wells County Board of Commissioners for a term through Jan. 1, 2012).
Jerome Markley, phone 694-6491 (appointed by the three school boards of Wells County for a term through Jan. 1, 2009).
Jarrod Hahn, work phone 824-6414 (serves by virtue of his office as county surveyor).
Kent Kiracofe, office phone 824-4049, is the APC attorney.
Meetings of the Wells County Area Plan Commission regularly are on the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Wells Carnegie Government Annex Building. Those attending APC meetings are asked to use the entrance on the west side of the building.
The APC reviews and approves Development Plans and Subdivisions and recommends on Rezonings. Any structure except single-family buildings requires a development plan approval.
Note that extensive changes to the ordinance relating to planning and zoning within Wells County were being made at the time of writing this year's factbook, with implementation of a new ordinance expected in the first half of 2008. Please check with the APC office to ensure procedures outlined below are still in effect.

PROCEDURE TO AMEND ZONE MAPS
Petitions are to be filed in the Wells APC office by 4 p.m. by the posted deadline each month prior to the scheduled meeting for sign to be posted for notice to interested parties and the legal notice to be published in the appropriate local newspapers, in accordance with state law.
The following information is needed for notice to be published:
A. A legal description of the property to be rezoned. It SHALL come from an existing recorded deed (photostat copy of deed) or a survey prepared by a licensed land surveyor. (Purchase contracts will not be acceptable unless recorded in the office of the Wells County Recorder.)
B. Address of property which petition is filed.
C. A fee of $100 payable to the Wells County Plan Commission.
D. A fee of $150 payable to the Bluffton News-Banner covers both The News-Banner and Ossian Journal for publication of the legal notices. (For properties in the Allen County part of Zanesville, legal notice will be published in Bluffton News-Banner and Fort Wayne Newspapers. Fort Wayne Newspapers will be paid in advance. Ad must be taken to the Fort Wayne Newspapers office.
E. A fee of $12 first page, $2 each additional page — based on length in number of pages of Findings of Fact — payable to the Wells County Recorder. This fee is to cover the recording costs for any conditions the APC may put on the approved site plan.
F. A site plan and other diagrams, according to Article 4 of the Wells County Zoning Ordinance, shall accompany the petition.
All petitions shall be signed by the property owners who own at least 50 percent of the land involved.
All persons, except attorneys, shall submit to the APC a signed authorization as provided by the APC, to represent the owner or owners of the property on which the rezoning is filed.
The Wells County APC, at its discretion, may refuse to schedule a hearing if, in the opinion of the director, there is insufficient time to prepare notices, there are too many petitions for the meeting, or inadequate information has been presented to the APC to render a fair and impartial hearing.

WELLS BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
Members of the Wells County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) are Jerry Petzel, James Schwarzkopf, Mark Shaffer, Joe Langel and Rose Ann Barrick.
Jerry Petzel (president), home phone 824-2672 (appointed by mayor of Bluffton for a term through Jan. 1, 2010).
Mark Shaffer (vice president), home phone 346-2187 (appointed by the Area Plan Commission for a term through Jan. 1, 2012).
James Schwarzkopf, home phone (765) 728-5951 (appointed by the Wells County Board of Commissioners for a term through Jan. 1, 2012).
Joe Langel, home phone 694-6504 (appointed by the Area Plan Commission on an annual basis, for a term through Jan. 1, 2009).
Rose Ann Barrick, home phone 622-4733 (appointed by the Town of Ossian for a term through Jan. 1, 2010).
Meetings of the Wells County BZA are the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

PROCEDURE FOR PETITIONS TO BZA
Petitions are to be filed in the Wells County Area Plan Commission office by 4 p.m. by the posted deadline each month prior to the day of the scheduled meeting for legal notices to be published in the appropriate local newspapers, in accordance with state law.
The same information pertains to BZA filings as to APC filings, except the fee payable to the Wells County Area Plan Commission is $125 for BZA petitions.

WELLS COUNTY GIS DEPARTMENT
The Wells County Geographic Information System (GIS) serves all of Wells County and is located at the Carnegie Government Annex, 223 West Washington St., Bluffton.
GIS is a computerized database management system for the capture, storage, retrieval, analysis and display of spatial data. In other words, it is a digital database of the collective governmental offices. You can search from one office or your home or office via the Internet and obtain information about Wells County.

The Web site is: www.wellscountygis.org

Wells County GIS has been online since November 2003. Feedback can be made to: GIS@wellscounty.org
It is hoped that the self-service site is beneficial to the general public. We have made it free to the public to utilize the vast information as citizens desire.
Our hopes are for this Web site to be the initial visit by the public and then to fine-tune with individual offices as needed. By utilizing this technology, the office counter and telephone traffic are reduced, allowing existing employees to perform more jobs in a timely manner.
From the standpoint of the county government and serving the interests of the taxpayers, our long-term goal is to maintain the existing employment levels and still increase the productivity of county government.