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6 Selloffs Ratified for
Rural Progress; 30-Ft. Half Rights-of-Way Too

By JIM BARBIERI
With official action taken unanimously Tuesday night by Bluffton City Council, rural landowners in Wells County now can have six sell-offs instead of the longstanding limit of four.
An increase had been sought by a number of landowners who wanted more opportunities with their land.
After many public meetings, special committee studies and quests for input, the Wells County Area Plan Commission (APC) voted 11-0 in April for certifying amendments accordingly in the Wells County Subdivision Control Ordinance.
Specifically, the measure allows six minor subdivisions to be granted by the APC director without the need for notice or a public hearing.
However, the director still is to require an application to be signed by the owner or legal representative, a fee to be paid as set forth by the APC and an Improvement Location Survey.
The survey was noted in discussion as a means of reflecting awareness of proximity to property-affecting circumstances such as a confined feeding operation.
The other substantial provision in the amending action was an addition to the requirement that the minor subdivider (owner making the selloffs) must dedicate to the governmental entity having area jurisdiction a parcel or lot sufficient to allow for any right of way requirement by that governmental entity.
The wording added to that in the APC certification of amendment approval in April states:
“All new parcels created in the A-1 zoning district shall dedicate 30 feet half right-of-way.”
That provision is one meeting the official policy of the Wells County Commissioners calling for 60-foot right of ways being provided for county paving (chip and seal) program actions.
The subdivision law continues to specify that the documents including the Improvement Location Survey and conveyance deed, be recorded in the office of the county recorder.
Under definitions, the language defines a Minor Subdivision as the subdivision of a primary parcel into seven or less smaller lots. This would enable six selloffs.
Since the APC certification, the legislative unit of the county government (Wells County Commissioners) plus the municipalities of Ossian, Poneto, Uniondale, Vera Cruz, Zanesville and now Bluffton all have ratified, completing the need. (Markle is served by the Huntington County APC).