A 12.8-acre property about 12 miles north of Bloomington, that was previously home to the hydroponic business called Worm’s Way, will remain an agriculture/rural reserve (AG/RR) zoning district under Monroe County’s code.
That’s because the three-member board of county commissioners on Wednesday morning, denied the request of property owner Martin Heydt to rezone the land to a pre-existing business (PB) district.
At the same Wednesday meeting, on a 3–0 vote, the commissioners approved a request from U-Haul to rezone about 12 acres west of town on Profile Parkway, from general industrial (GI) to general business (GB), so that a DIY moving truck rental and self-storage facility could be built there.
Monroe county commissioners are: Julie Thomas, Penny Githens, and Lee Jones.
Worm’s Way
The property in question is about 12 miles north of Bloomington at 7850 North Wayport Road. The request was to rezone the property from agriculture/rural reserve (AG/RR) to pre-existing business (PB). The property consists of a total of about 12.8 acres.
Starting in 1995, the property was home to Martin Heydt’s agri-business, Worm’s Way, which specialized in hydroponic equipment. Worm’s Way grew into a national retailer with mail order sales, sold in 2016, and closed in 2017, which led to property’s vacancy. It’s about a half mile south of Oliver Winery.
Heydt wants the property rezoned to improve the prospects of selling the land. According to Heydt, who joined Wednesday’s meeting on the Teams video conferencing platform, one prospective buyer wanted to purchase this property, but could not use it under the current agriculture/rural reserve zoning.
Worm’s Way had operated under a “special exception use” that was granted in 1995, and that’s the way the two buildings on the property were used.
A big part of Heydt’s argument for the rezone was based on the county’s 1997 rezone to pre-existing business (PB) of 14 other properties in the I-69 corridor. The properties were simply rezoned by the county, not based on petitions of the property owners, according to Heydt. His property was “similarly situated” and should have been included in the rezone to PB, given that there was literally a pre-existing business operating there, Heydt said.
While Heydt called it a “fairness” issue, his attorney, Michael Carmin, who appeared in person on Wednesday, called it a “legal issue.” What the county had done in 1997—by not including the Worm’s Way land as part of the rezone of the other 14 properties—amounted to a “regulatory taking,” Carmin said. A regulatory taking is the significant diminishing of property’s value without just compensation under the U.S. Constitution.
The fact that the two buildings on the property cannot be used under the basic existing agriculture/rural reserve (AG/RR) zoning led Monroe County assessor Judith Sharp, after an appeal by Heydt, to lower the assessed value of the property from $2,675,600 to $531,400. Given the status of the two buildings, Sharp wrote, “We could no longer call it a commercial property, so the land was revalued to the current agricultural rates set by the State of Indiana.”
The inclination of the county commissioners not to grant the rezone request was reflected in an early remark from Penny Githens about the 1997 rezone of 14 other properties. “I don’t know what the thinking was back in 1997.” She added, “I don’t know that history. And I’m only worried about today and going forward.”
On Wednesday, several immediate neighbors who live in the Windsor Private subdivision, which is north and east of the Worm’s Way land, spoke in opposition to the rezone request.
Nearby resident Andrew Long rejected the idea that neighbors are against the owner trying to sell the property, but said, “it needs to fit the surrounding area and the use cases.” Long pointed to the fact that the PB zoning district is proposed to be eliminated in the draft county development ordinance (CDO) that’s in the works. The planning staff report indicates that Heydt was told it would be possible to request a rezone to general business (GB) or limited business (LB), which are the two districts that would replace PB in the new CDO.
Long said, “It’s not up to the county to find a way for the owner to sell at a high price. It’s up to the county to protect residents’ rights and property values.”
Long rejected the idea that it was his neighborhood that was to blame for the decisions made 25 years ago. To get the property sold, Long said, Heydt “needs to reduce his price and do something else.” Long also rejected the idea that the objections raised by neighbors were, as Carmin described them, “irrational.” Long said, “We’re just trying to protect our families and our homes.”
Speaking in opposition to the rezone request on behalf of the Windsor Private Homeowners Association was attorney Eric Koch. He told commissioners that he was speaking on behalf of the 38 owners and 100 residents who were unable to appear in person or through remote electronic means. Even though he was not there in his capacity as an elected official, Koch’s name will be recognizable as the state senator representing District 44.
Commissioner Penny Githens pointed to the 1995 special use variance that was granted so that Worm’s Way could operate there. That variance is still attached to the property, Githens said, which led to her position: “I’m not in favor of changing what is there at this time.”
Commissioner Lee Jones said, “I do not find the residents of [nearby neighborhoods] to be irrational at all. I understand that they’re attempting to protect their lifestyle, which is perfectly understandable.”
Commissioner Julie Thomas serves as the commissioners appointee to the plan commission and spoke from the perspective of several petitions that had been submitted to that group about the property.
Based on the materials in Wednesday’s meeting information packet, a variance to add “metal fabrication” was recommended for denial by the planning staff and approved by the BZA (3-2) on June 5, 2019; however, the commercial site plan filing was never submitted by the property owner.
A rezoning request (REZ-21-3) from AG/RR to LI (light industrial) was recommended for denial by the planning staff, received a positive recommendation from the plan commission (7-0) on Oct. 5, 2021, but was ultimately denied by the county commissioners (3-0) on Oct. 27, 2021.
Use variances to add “general contractor” (VAR-22-34, VAR-22-36) were recommended for denial by the planning staff and were twice denied by the BZA (3-0 on Aug. 31, 2022, and 3-0-1 on March 1, 2023) after an amended application was submitted on Feb. 3, 2023.
A planned unit development outline plan (PUO-23-4) intended to establish specific land uses, including a religious facility, pet services, furniture sales, and transfer or storage terminal, was recommended for denial by the planning staff, but was later withdrawn by the petitioner on Sept. 27, 2023.
Thomas said on Wednesday, she commends the nearby residents “for being tenacious and for speaking at all of these meetings.” While it’s frustrating, Thomas said, “We cannot prevent a resubmission of another proposal. …That’s just how this process works.”
For Thomas, it boiled down to the unknowns associated with uses that could be allowed in a PB zoning district. “A garden supply store with a huge buffer yard in the back [like Worm’s Way] is one thing,” Thomas said. But Thomas said she assumes new buildings would take over the existing buffer between the existing buildings and parking lots would be built—whatever would have to happen to support a new business would be built.
The vote was 3–0 to deny the rezone request for the former Worm’s Way property.
U-Haul rezone
The request from U-Haul, which was represented by regional president Jeff Steffani at Wednesday’s meeting, was to rezone about 12 acres west of town on Profile Parkway, from general industrial (GI) to general business (GB)—so that a DIY moving truck rental and self-storage facility could be built there.
It was not obvious what county zoning district would allow the combined use of moving truck rentals and a self-storage facility, but the county planning staff recommended that a rezone to general business (GB) would cover both uses.
The land is in a Monroe County tax increment finance (TIF) district, so the petition was reviewed by the county’s redevelopment commission (RDC). According to the planning staff report, members of the RDC said that they would prefer a use that generated high-wage jobs and that has aesthetically pleasing build outs and employs a lot of people.
But the RDC did not have an objection to the rezone to general business (GB) or the proposed use being the combined vehicle rental and convenient storage. The basic position of RDC members was that the property should be put to use, rather than sit vacant.
In 2022-23, the county’s RDC undertook a significant road construction project, including an extension of Profile Parkway, to improve the area’s redevelopment prospects.
No one spoke in opposition to the rezone request. Speaking in favor of it was Dave Harstad, a real estate agent who said he has been working for 15 years to get the land back into some kind of productive use.
Harstad said he has pitched the site to Cook Medical, Catalent, and Baxter, but for various reasons, he said, it has not been on the list for expansion for those “base industries,” which create jobs. But the site has been “highly attractive” to the service industry sector, Harstad said.
For anyone moving to the area, whether it’s to take a job with Indiana University or some private company, people need storage, and the land that U-Haul is looking to rezone is a “perfect place for this type of use,” Harstad said.
Also speaking in favor of the rezone request was Randy Cassady, who addressed the county commissioners as a member of the Monroe County redevelopment commission. He opened his remarks by thanking them for his appointment to the RDC. He described the situation as a case where U-Haul has come up with a plan that will put the property back into productive use, increase the county’s tax base and contribute to the TIF.
Commissioner Julie Thomas said her reaction to the proposal was that U-Haul’s proposed use “did not seem to fit at all what we developed this property for.” She continued saying, “This is supposed to be light, industrial, potentially heavy industrial.” To her surprise, Thomas said, the RDC had said, “Heck, yeah, this fits.” So Thomas said she would defer to the RDC’s judgment.
In brief remarks, commissioners Lee Jones and Penny Githens indicated their support before the 3–0 vote was taken.