Pictured is the building at 113-117 S. Main St., Claypool, which is owned by Sky Team Properties LLC. InkFreeNews photo by Dan Spalding.

By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — The Kosciusko County Board of Zoning Appeals has filed three civil plenaries in Kosciusko Superior Court Four regarding violations of zoning ordinances for properties in Claypool.

The listed defendants in the plenaries are: Jonathan P. Fussle, Warsaw; Sky Team Properties LLC, Warsaw; and John Paul Martin and Alita L. Martin, Claypool.

Fussle is the owner of 110 S. Main St., Claypool. He is also the owner of Sky Team Properties LLC, which is the registered owner for property at 113-117 S. Main St., Claypool. According to Kosciusko County Beacon GIS, the LLC also owns multiple properties in both Claypool and Warsaw. The Martins own real estate near CR 700S in Claypool, in an area zoned for residential uses.

In all of the suits, the county BZA is being represented by Adam D. Turner.

According to court documents, on or about Feb. 12, 2020, Fussle began constructing, remodeling and leasing apartments on real estate zoned as public use/commercial, which is not a permitted use of the properties and is in violation of the Kosciusko County Zoning Ordinance. The locations at 110 S. Main St. and 113-117 S. Main St. are in areas zoned for commercial uses.

According to paperwork filed on the Martins’ case, on or about May 25, 2021, the Martins created an undersized tract of ground which is in violation of the Kosciusko County Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Control Ordinance.

The suits for all of the properties state that “after repeated requests from agents of the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission and the Kosciusko County Board of Zoning Appeals, and after threat of legal action, (the defendants) have not taken any steps to remedy the violation(s) of the Kosciusko County Zoning Ordinance.”

The county BZA is requesting judgment ordering all defendants to immediately cease and desist violations of the Kosciusko County Zoning Ordinance, as well as coverage for court costs, “and for all further and proper relief which the premises may require.”

The BZA, through Area Planning Director Dan Richard, is also requesting the court assess penalties for each and every day the violations have occurred, at the maximum rate of $300 per day. Section 4.12 of the Kosciusko County Zoning Ordinance provides that “any person who violates this ordinance may be penalized not less than $10 per day nor more than $300 per day for each day the violations continue.”