The Wells County Area Plan Commission has jurisdiction over the entire county including the City of Bluffton and the Towns of Ossian, Uniondale, Vera Cruz, Zanesville and Poneto.

  AREA PLAN COMMISSION
  223 W Washington Street, Room 211
  Bluffton, IN 46714

  TELEPHONE: (260) 824-6407

  FAX: (260) 824-6415

  EMAIL: GIS@wellscounty.org

  FACEBOOK!

IMPORTANT DATES

2013 Calendar

APC/BZA/Plat Committee Meeting Dates for 2013

 

NEWS

Announcement in regards to APEX's petitions and May 2 APC meeting date.

View Announcement

 

The maps can be viewed here or in the office.  

 

NEWS

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN!!

HELP US WRITE IT!!

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THE COVER LETTER, QUESTIONAIRE, AND OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION!!

1. COVER LETTER ~ EXPLAINS WHAT TO DO

2. QUESTIONNAIRE ~ IS A SET OF QUESTIONS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY'S GOALS IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS.

Answers Due By March 31st. 

 

NEWS

NEW APC's Violation involving the Manure Lagoon has been appealed and continued to the June 25, 2013 meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals.

(The petition will be heard)  

 

NEWS

Ordinance Revisions

CAFO and Fee Schedule has been approved by the county, city of bluffton, ossian, uniondale, poneto, zanesville, and vera cruz.

Ordinance will go into affect on April 11, 2013. 

Copy of CAFO and Fee Schedule Proposals

Copy of WECS Proposals

Meeting Schedule for Town Boards

 

MAPS

1. Prelimenary Floodplain Maps CLICK HERE

2. APEX WIND MAPS

CLICK HERE

 

Ordinances and Fees

Wells County Comprehensive Plan

Effective June 10, 1993

Wells County Zoning and Floodplain Management and Subdivision Control Ordinance

Effective April 11, 2013

Wells County Area Plan Commission Fee Schedule

Effective April 11, 2013

 

F.A.Q.

(Frequently Asked Questions)

What are acceptable methods of payment for permits and petitions?

We accept cash, personal checks, certified checks, and money orders. If using a check, please make it payable to: Wells County APC.

What Do You Need A Permit For?

Homes, commercial structures, industrial structures, public structures, towers, wind turbines, signs, decks, porches, sheds, barns, silos, grain bins, detached garages, above or below ground pools, dog kennels, pavilions, gazebos, the addition to any of these, and any other similar structures.

What Do You Not Need A Permit For?

Reroof, Reside, Paint, Interior Remodel, sidewalk, driveway, fences*, parking lot*, temporary structure*, temporary sign*, or any similar repair, or remodeling.

* Additional approvals may be required please call the Area Plan Commission Office for More Details     

(The County Page is currently under construction)

 

Wells County Area Plan Commission

(Forms) (Minutes)

The Area Plan Commission has public hearings on text amendments to the Subdivision Control and the Zoning Ordinance, map amendments (rezones), development plan reviews and major subdivision approvals. It acts as the legislative side of the Area Plan office.

Wells County Board of Zoning Appeals

(Forms) (Minutes)

The Board of Zoning Appeals has public hearings on variances, special exceptions, non-conforming uses and structures, and administrative appeals. It acts as the judicial side of the Area Plan office.

Wells County Plat Committee

(Forms) (Minutes)

The Wells County Plat Committee holds hearing on Ponds, Minor Subdivisions, Additions, and Combines.  It acts as a committee to the Plan Commission.

Wells County Area Plan Commission Office

(Forms)

The Plan Commission Office has five (5) main functions.

1. We organize, maintain, and prepare the records of the Wells County Area Plan Commission, Wells County Plat Committee, and Wells County Board of Zoning Appeals.  The records include petition forms, plats, meeting minutes, and other documents used by the boards.

2. We prepare and maintain the budget approved by the Wells County Area Plan Commission and Wells County Council for each year.

3. We accept and review petition filings for the Wells County Area Plan Commission, Wells County Plat Committee, and Wells County Board of Zoning Appeals.  We work to assist the boards and the petitioners with the workings of the requirements of the Wells County Zoning Ordinance and Wells County Subdivision Control Ordinance.

4. We issue improvement location permits for new construction as directed by the Wells County Zoning Ordinance and Wells County Subdivision Control Ordinance.

5. We enforce the regulations set forth by the Wells County Zoning Ordinance and Wells County Subdivision Control Ordinance.  Any petition or permit granted through the Wells County Area Plan Commission Office is subject to at least one site inspection before it will be approved.

The Wells County Area Plan Commission is also responsible for administering the floodplain ordinance adopted from the State of Indiana. The official maps are in the office and designate all lands with either 100 or 500-year flood or no special flood hazard area.

Planning and zoning is offered as a service to the community to help preserve property values and to locate compatible land uses in the same vicinity. Also, the distribution of zoning districts is typically based on densities. Where there are non-compatible land uses that abut each other, we try to screen or buffer the two conflicting uses.

 

 

Plat Committee

Meeting Minutes:

BZA

Meeting Minutes:

Area Plan Commission

Meeting Minutes:

ALL MEETING MINUTES ARE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COSUMPTION THROUGH THE FOLLOWING MEDIA.  (Mail, Fax, Print, and EMAIL) PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

NEW

Apex Wind Energy

*Amended Wells County Wind II Project

full plans

*Modified Wells County Wind Project

full plans

Apex Wind Energy

(Wells County Wind II)

1. Project Layout Plan

2. Setbacks Phase

3. Shadow Flicker (Real World)

4. Shadow Flicker (Worst Case)

5. Sound

6. Utility Layout Plan

7. Transportation Layout Plan

These maps range in size from 599 KB to 3,741 KB so some of them may open slowly.  For best viewing save these files to your computer.

APEX'S MAPS FOR THEIR MODIFIED FILING

1. Project Layout Plan Phase 1

2. Project Layout Plan Phase 2

3. Setbacks Phase 1

4. Setbacks Phase 2

5. Shadow Flicker (Real World) Phase 1

6. Shadow Flicker (Real World) Phase 2

7. Shadow Flicker (Worst Case) Phase 1

8. Shadow Flicker (Worst Case) Phase 2

9. Sound Phase 1

10. Sound Phase 2

11. Utility Layout Plan Phase 1

12. Utility Layout Plan Phase 2

13. Transportation Layout Plan Phase 1

14. Transportation Layout Plan Phase 2

These maps range in size from 180 KB to 3,601 KB so some of them may open slowly.  For best viewing save these files to your computer.

APEX'S ORIGINAL MAPS

1. Project Layout Plan Phase 1

2. Project Layout Plan Phase 2

3. Setbacks Phase 1

4. Setbacks Phase 2

5. Shadow Flicker (Real World) Phase 1

     *Updated 2-29-12

6. Shadow Flicker (Real World) Phase 2

     *Updated 2-29-12

7. Shadow Flicker (Worst Case) Phase 1

     *Updated 2-29-12

8. Shadow Flicker (Worst Case) Phase 2

     *Updated 2-29-12

9. Sound Phase 1

10. Sound Phase 2

11. Utility Layout Plan Phase 1

12. Utility Layout Plan Phase 2

These maps range in size from 131 KB to 3,282 KB so some of them may open slowly.  For best viewing save these files to your computer.

 

Michael Lautzenheiser Jr., AICP
Executive Director
Biography


Amanda Studebaker
Administrative Assistant

Tracey Ulmer
Part-Time Clerical

Biography

Area Plan Director
GIS Manager
Flood Plain Administrator

Michael W. Lautzenheiser Jr. has been the Wells County Area Plan Commission Director since May 5, 2006. He graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Urban Planning and Design. In college, he worked with government bodies in Frankfort, IN, Muncie, IN, and Shelbyville, IN. His experiences in the field include two internships at the Wells County Area Plan Commission and several in school studio projects.

Michael has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since March 2010. Michael will be pursuing continuing education to maintain this certification in the fields of planning law, planning ethics, and urban and rural planning practice and theory.  

http://www.planning.org/aicp/

 

Michael also has a concentration in Global Information Systems (GIS) from Ball State University. The Wells County GIS system will continue to expand with his experience.

 

SMALL WIND GUIDES

Energy from the Wind: Planning for a Small Wind Turbine in Rural Areas of Indiana (PDF) (532 KB)

 

Small Wind Electric Systems: An Indiana Consumer's Guide (PDF) (1.44 MB)

PURDUE EXTENSION WIND ENERGY WEBSITE

American Wind Energy Association

(AWEA) Small Wind Website

 

 

Floodplain Maps

These maps are preliminary and will be discussed at the May 1st open house from 4 pm to 7 pm located in the commissioner's room in the Wells County Annex Building

Bluffton Map (42.528 MB)

Markle Map (5.217 MB)

Ossian Map (11.726 MB)

Poneto Map (6.628 MB)

Uniondale Map (6.2 MB)
Vera Cruz Map (5.928 MB)
Wells County Unincorporated Map (103.269 MB)

Zanesville Map (6.639 MB)

These maps are in Adobe Pdf Portfolio Format.  They are very large files.  For optimal viewing you should right click on the map you wish to view and save the target to your computer.  Then open the downloaded file on your computer.  This download will not work well on a slow internet feed.

We can provide prints and digital formats of your specific property upon request!

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