Neighbors south of newly annexed Keystone RV land want to know when the company will stop building, the Goshen Board of Zoning Appeals heard Tuesday.
This story by Jordan Fouts originally appeared in The Elkhart Truth.
The board approved a variance to allow Keystone to build an office without a sewer hookup at a vehicle storage and shipping lot at 3393 Lincolnway East. City planning staff recommended the change as long as the building remains under 5,000 square feet.
The city annexed about 32 acres surrounding the storage lot at the end of August. Rossa Deegan, assistant planning and zoning administrator, noted that sewer lines don’t currently reach the site and there would be a significant cost to the city and company to extend the lines.
Ahead of the vote, C.R. 40 resident Nancy Bigler expressed opposition to the number of buildings the company has put up in recent years and the extra traffic, light, noise and vehicle break-ins that she’s seen come with it. She said the problems persist despite meetings she and her neighbors have had with Keystone representatives, and she wanted to know when it will stop.
“We are concerned about, as a small community that’s left, keeping it as it is,” she said. “Look at it from our point of view: You work all these years to pay for a home, you get a home, and you think you have some security, but you don’t.”
Bob Pettit, Keystone RV vice president of support services, told the BZA the company has no plans to build more than the one office with a small staff at the storage lot. He said the lot should alleviate some of the traffic by providing direct access to U.S. 33.