WARSAW — Close to an hour of discussion and debate about a preliminary plat petition from Terry Shepherd led to no vote on the petition being taken by the Kosciusko County Area Planning Commission during its regular monthly meeting Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 2, in Warsaw.

Shepherd wants to finish out the Candlewood Estates subdivision development off CR 400S, east of Packerton Road in Wayne Township on a 5.21 acre tract of ground. This would be phase two of the development and involve six lots. Shepherd wants to extend a cul-de-sac, which Dan Richard, area planning director, said is already too long and does not meet county standards.

Richard noted Shepherd previously sold off some of the lots and created a “disfiguration” of the plat. Richard said the technical review committee, which reviews plat petitions prior to the APC, discussed at great length asking for some type of a stub connector road instead of extending the cul-de-sac. He added from a planning standpoint, the property to the north of the plat should be left open for possible development in the future.

There was considerable discussion about the petition including APC member Bob Sanders proposing a 50-foot easement instead of the cul-de-sac extension. Shepherd said it would make no sense financially for him to proceed with the development if a county standard road of 100 feet wide (including setbacks) was required. He said there is simply not enough room for a road and also the houses and the rest of the infrastructure.

At times it appeared there was confusion about Shepherd’s proposal and what the APC should do in response. Another proposal offered by Richard was to compromise on setback requirements and only require a 90-foot road, but Shepherd said that would still not work for him.

Brent Byers owns the acreage to the north and agreed it is not feasible to put in a road and develop the property. He said a pavilion for a community park is being built in the next few months. He added a 50-foot easement access should help solve some of the problems.

Eventually the APC instead agreed to let the technical review committee look at the plat proposal again with Shepherd. The petition will then be placed on the January agenda for the APC.

In other business, the APC unanimously recommended approval for Vince Beasley to rezone ground from residential to commercial on West Main Street, northeast of Dolan Drive in Syracuse. Beasley purchased a house Nov. 23 that had been vacant for about 18 months and said he intends to have the interior remodeled and a real estate office put in. “We hope to have the renovation completed by early March 2016,” he said.

Attorney Steve Snyder, who owns a law office directly across Main Street from the vacant house, spoke in support of Beasley’s petition and said it is a good fit for a business district. Syracuse Town Council will consider the rezoning petition at its Tuesday, Dec. 15, meeting.

Also on the agenda, the APC granted approval for Patrick Higgins to have a one-year extension on the proposal for the Chapman Lake storage lots. Snyder, representing Higgins, said more time is needed before a plat proposal can be submitted.

And the APC will likely continue the real estate directional sign discussion at the January meeting. Richard indicated Bob Conley, APC member, plans to bring some type of proposal to the January meeting.