Published: October 01, 2008 11:46 am      

Rezoning request for Perrin land denied by Jeffersonville Planning Commission

The Jeffersonville Planning Commission gave an unfavorable recommendation to a proposal that sought to rezone 2.4 acres of riverside land from park space to residential classification.

The land in question, owned by the Perrin Park Foundation, is across from the Perrin Point subdivision. Many feared that development there would have blocked those homeowners’ view of the Ohio River.

The plan commission heard both sides of the argument for more than an hour during its Tuesday night meeting. Though the land is owned by the foundation, it is not a part of Perrin Park.

Attorney Mike Naville told the board that, up until a few years ago, the zoning on the area had been residential. He says it had been erroneously changed to a park designation a few years ago, without the property’s owners getting any notice.

There are only three ways zoning can be changed, he said: The owners can request it; the commission can change it; or the Jeffersonville City Council can change it.

In this case, the owners did not realize it had been changed, he said. Additionally, city council and plan commission records were thoroughly checked and there was no record of either board ever making the change.

“There are three entities that could have done it — none of them did,” Naville said.

“This riverfront property was never intended to be a part of Perrin Park,” said Mark Lawson, manager at the park.

The foundation wants to sell it for the benefit of the park, he said.

Greg Fifer, an attorney representing homeowners living in Perrin Point, argued against the rezoning.

He noted that the city’s comprehensive plan shows no additional single-family homes in that area.

“Any rezoning for residential use at this point would be inconsistent with your comprehensive plan,” he said to the commission.

Further, he argued that there were development standards to be considered because the land in question lies in the flood plain.

He said that his clients would be willing to work with the city to purchase it and use it as park space. However, he noted, that the parcel’s appraised value of $400,000 — when zoned residential — would be far too much of an investment.

Fifer steered clear of addressing concerns about the zoning being erroneously changed in recent years, saying only that he did not have enough information on it.

The commission voted to pass the rezoning request on to the Jeffersonville City Council with an unfavorable recommendation, on a motion from commission member Bob Miller, who also is the city engineer.

Following the meeting, Naville and Lawson said they would appeal to the city council to change the zoning.

“(The foundation) got property rights taken away from them without due process of law,” he said.