Columbus City Council has given its final approval to an ordinance that makes large agricultural properties exempt from certain city laws in an effort to make annexation more attractive.
The council voted on Tuesday to pass the second reading of an ordinance that amends municipal code to allow farm animals, burning and hunting on properties in the city limits that are zoned agricultural and are more than 35 acres.
The exemptions apply to a single property or immediately adjacent properties under the same ownership that meet the two criteria.
City/County planning director Jeff Bergman wrote in a memo to the city council that finding shovel-ready land for new homes, industrial sites and other city growth is difficult. Properties must meet several requirements, including being able to access city services and being eligible for annexation, he said.
Indiana law requires that land must be at least 12.5% contiguous with current city limits to be eligible for annexation.
“In some cases, this contiguity requirement prevents property owners from pursuing annexation and development; the inclusion of other, neighboring property owners would be needed for the area to be annexation-eligible,” Bergman wrote. “These neighboring property owners are, typically, farming their land with little-to-no intent for development in the foreseeable future. They are, therefore, likely opposed to annexation for several reasons.”
One of these, he said, is the loss of property rights such as the ability to have farm animals, burn, and hunt on their land, as these actions are largely prohibited within city limits.
The approved ordinance allows these actions for eligible properties, albeit with some stipulations. For instance, the update states that hunting, excluding such activity done for commercial purposes, is allowed if the land meets the stated criteria and is not adjacent to certain uses. These include any nursing home/assisted living/retirement facility, community centers, daycare centers, fairgrounds, libraries, schools, worship facilities, or outdoor parks and recreation facilities.
Additionally, eligible property owners who light a fire must ensure that it is attended at all times with an extinguishing source and must put out the fire if it creates an air quality problem, nuisance or hazard. Additionally, no burning will be conducted under “unfavorable” weather conditions, as determined by the fire chief or his designee. Fires will be subject to all state and federal air quality standards.
The changes would apply to both newly-annexed properties and those already within the city that meet the given criteria, Bergman said.
