WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
The removal of decades-old restrictive covenants assigned to property in Centreville could potentially spur economic growth in the county seat.
Zoning administrator Doug Kuhlman told county commissioners during their executive committee meeting last week that the covenants were put in place by a committee that doesn’t appear to exist anymore.
During their board meeting Tuesday, commissioners approved a measure that removes the covenants.
Kuhlman said the property in question lies within Centreville’s industrial park, a 120-acre piece of land south of Main Street on the east side of town. The impetus for the change stems from two potential tenants interested in developing in the industrial park property, Kuhlman said, adding that protected covenants were put in place back in 1996. They come with 25-year restrictions that actually do more harm than good in promoting development in Centreville’s industrial park, he said.
As a result of the board’s action Tuesday, administrator Teresa Doehring will sign a document indicating St. Joseph County’s support for replacing the covenants with Centreville’s zoning ordinance.
What are the restrictive covenants and why were they instituted in the first place? Have the neighboring parcel owners been notified? Generally there is a reason – especially as this was only in 1996. Way too many questions. If I lived near this area I’d be asking a lot of questions.
And you can’t learn any of the answers from the Centreville village website nor the County Commission web pages. The minutes don’t even include identifying information or the commissioners’ comments. They’ll let you know when it’s a done deal without citizen recourse. Just the way they like it.