Petition to
MONROE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Re: The
application for permit to allow Vernal Pike Transfer and Recycling.
We, the undersigned, hereby petition the City of Bloomington
and IDEM to request denial of permit for Vernal Pike Transfer and Recycling,
located at present JB Salvage, W. Vernal Pike, Bloomington, IN 47404.
The Carbondale, CO. study by BBC Research and Consulting, defines
solid waste transfer stations as a noxious land use: garbage odors, rats, noises from equipment reverse
alarms and motors, vehicular traffic and processing equipment, increased road
trash, poor air quality and polluted run-off. We therefore believe that the urban location
of this facility compromises and is injurious to the health, safety and quality
of life, of the nearby neighborhoods, businesses, school children, bikers and
B-line trail users.
Furthermore we believe the infrastructure that will be used
as access for this facility is, inappropriate and inadequate. Access will be impaired due to low railroad
trestles on Adams St. and 11th St. and two railroad crossings one on
Vernal Pike and the other on Adams St.
When the Vernal Pike intersection with Hwy 37/I-69 is closed (as is
planned by INDOT) the only exit route for large trucks to get from the station
to Vigo County/Terre Haute area landfill will (out of necessity) be through a
high-density, low-income, residential neighborhood with compact urban form and
three affordable housing complexes. Large
trucks and semis will violate the vehicle weight limits for these streets according
to the Monroe County Ordinance 2011, Chapter 480.
We request that you will: 1) allow public discussion on this issue 2) reconsider the inappropriateness of the downtown/urban
location of this type of facility near a low-income, high-density residential
neighborhood including three schools 3) deny said permit.
Where do we go to sign this petition?
ReplyDeleteGene, we would encourage you to come to the March 4th meeting at 7pm, Room 1B at the Monroe County Public Library. There will be a petition there for your signature. If you can't make it on the 4th, please email us at nadtts@gmail.com and we'll try to make arrangements to get a petition to you. Thanks for your comments and support.
DeleteI am planning on being there.
DeleteJust a few rambling thoughts. . .
ReplyDeleteThis petition seems to be confounding a few issues. After a bit of research I am inclined to ask why it is directed to the Monroe County Commissioners? They are listed in the permit application, but do they have a say in the matter of whether this facility can be allowed in the city? Isn't IDEM the governing body that issues the permit and has the power to deny it (not the Monroe County Commissioners)?
Also, it appears (from the WFHB interview) that it is Tom Micuda, the Director of the City of Bloomington Planning Department, that is not allowing the public discussion (not the Monroe County Commissioners).
Apparently Mr. Micuda believes that he can violate city zoning rules by doing an end run around the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), the Zoning Enforcement Division, the Plan Commission, the Environmental Planning Division, the Environmental Commission, the Transportation Planning Division, the Common Counsel, the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), and the Citizens of the City of Bloomington by simply writing a letter "earlier this year" claiming that an old, irrelevant, non-conforming use variance from three decades ago makes it okay to shortcut the official planning process. (Has anyone seen this letter? I don't see it in the original application.)
The 1984 variance was requested by the former property owners (George and Mary Green) solely to bring a legal non-conforming non-complying business into compliance. This was so that they could sell the property to a new owner (John Robinson) with the assurance that the city could not shut down the business (that was leasing the property) for non-compliance at a later date.
The variance is ONLY: "Use to allow salvage yard in RS zone."
Let me say that again:
THE 1984 VARIANCE IS SOLELY TO ALLOW A SALVAGE YARD IN A RESIDENTIAL ZONE.
Salvage Yard
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United Stated Code (49 USCS § 30501) states:
[Title 49. Transportation; Subtitle VI. Motor Vehicle and Driver Programs; Part A. General; Chapter 305. National Motor Vehicle Title Information System], salvage yard means an individual or entity engaged in the business of acquiring or owning salvage automobiles for
(A) resale in their entirety or as spare parts; or
(B) rebuilding, restoration, or crushing.
Indiana Code (IC 9-13-2-10) defines Automotive Salvage Recycler as
Sec. 10. "Automotive salvage recycler" means a business that:
(1) acquires damaged, inoperative, discarded, abandoned, or salvage motor vehicles, or their remains, as stock-in-trade;
(2) dismantles and processes such vehicles or remains for the reclamation and sale of reusable components and parts; and
(3) disposes of recyclable materials to a scrap metal processor or other appropriate facility.
In 1995 JBs Salvage petitioned for a "Use Variance to allow an expansion of a salvage operation" to "create a clean, professional, office area where individual customers can drop off materials for salvage and also inquire about the availability of salvage materials for sale."
This variance was granted because it met the "Standards for variances" at the time: (A) The approval will not be injurious to the public heath, safety, morals, and general welfare of the community. (B) The use and value of the area adjacent to the property in the variance will not be affected in a substantially adverse manner. (C) The need for the variance arises from some condition peculiar to the property involved. (D) The strict application of the terms of the zoning ordinance will constitute an unnecessary hardship of applied to the property for which the variance is sought. (E) The approval does not interfere substantially with the [1995] Comprehensive Plan.
The staff (at the time) felt that is was an "appropriate trade-off to allow the new office use [plus the expansion to a scrap metal recycling and retail operation] in exchange for all of the site upgrades."
Now JBs Salvage is looking to completely ditch their ORIGINAL automotive "salvage yard" in the Residential District that they got the 1984 variance for, and build a Solid Waste Processing Facility in it's place. They have the nerve to suggest that a 30 year old variance for an automotive junkyard (granted back when nearby Lemon Lane was an unmitigated toxic wasteland, the B-Line was a active railroad, and Dandelion Village was an animal pasture) gives them the authority to just remove the junk cars and go into the solid waste business with no regard for our zoning laws? And the Director of City Planning thinks that this is just fine and dandy? What planet am I living on? Better yet, what city am I living in?
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that one petition should go IDEM requesting that they halt the permit process because the application is not complete. Bethany Steven of Vernal Pike Transfer and Recycling d/b/a Indiana Recycling Resource, LLC did not properly disclose that the Bloomington City Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) has no provision for a Solid Waste Processing Facility in ANY business, commercial, or industrial district in the city (let alone in a residential district). She has failed to disclose that the NEW business (02/20/2012), Indiana Recycling Resource, LLC, she is proposing on her NEWLY leased (09/01/2012) property will be an illegal non-conforming non-complying use.
Also, Section F fails to list the "President(s) of [city] councils of any [city]'s affected by the permit application."
A second petition should go to Tom Micuda and the City Planning Department DEMANDING an end to this nonsense and DEMANDING that the proper channels be followed by the owner of the property, John Robinson, to petition to:
1) amend the Industrial General (IG) District zoning in the City's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) to allow the conditional operation of a Solid Waste Processing Facility; and 2) request a new variance to operate said Solid Waste Processing Facility in a Residential Single-family (RS) District.
If the City Planning Department continues to shirk their responsibility to "work hard to review development projects and create long-term plans in order to protect and enhance Bloomington's great quality of life," and our our rights as citizens to be heard in the proper forum is further denied, the next and immediate action should be a class action lawsuit against the Planning Department.
I think all parities are aware that if this goes through the proper planning process that it very likely will be denied. Their tactic is to do an illegal and immoral end run around the democratic city zoning process. The statements being made to the public through the media--that NO APPROVAL IS NEEDED for this "change of use"--is DISINFORMATION.
They are trying to fast-track and back-door this project on the sly before we have time to organize and fight. As soon as IDEM approves the permit, they want to have the facility built before we realize that we were lied to about the zoning. Then they can just apply for their third non-conforming use variance to bring the illegal operation into compliance as a fait accompli where they can argue that "the strict application of the terms of the zoning ordinance will constitute an unnecessary hardship."
I suggest that our tactic should be to stop their disinformation campaign by getting the truth out there, while tirelessly calling them on their lies and green-washed recycling propaganda; and force them into the established democratic city zoning process where this issue belongs, so that all of our voices can be heard and all the evidence can be presented.
Just for clarity, Neighbors against downtown trash were advised by a representative of Monroe County Solid Waste Management District to address the petition to Monroe County Commissioners as originally it was addressed to IDEM and City of Bloomington.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first got involved with this I didn't realize the direct connection to the Monroe County Commissioners.
ReplyDeleteAll I saw a back then was a SERIOUS Bloomington City zoning issue and didn't see what the *County* Commissioners had to do with this issue. It wasn't until later that their connection to this project became clear to me due to their legislated appointment to the Monroe County Solid Waste Management District Board.
The commissioners were clear targets for Indiana Recycling Resource's surreptitious and disingenuous campaign to gain "approval" from local officials.
As I stated above, I think all parities are aware that if this goes through the proper planning process it very likely will be denied. Their tactic was to do an illegal and immoral end run around the democratic city zoning process.
I think we have succeeded in slowing their disinformation campaign by getting the truth out there, while calling them on their lies and green-washed recycling propaganda.
And we have forced them into the established democratic city zoning process where this issue belongs, so that all of our voices can be heard and all the evidence can be presented.
We still may have a long way to go to fight this project, but at least we have succeeding in leveling the playing field and now have the City Legal Department up to bat for us.