Markle rezoned to fix issues

The Markle Town Council rezoned almost half of the town – about 325 acres of the town's 740 acres – Wednesday evening.

But that's to fix legal noncompliant issues and  better reflect what's already in place in the town, said Mark Mussman, executive director of Huntington Countywide Department of Community Development.

According to a letter submitted to the council from Mussman, here is a breakdown of the new zoning changes in Markle:

• About four acres from R-2 (residential, single-family units, with a front yard setback of 75 feet) to General Business: location of the gas station/convenience store at the corner of U.S. 224 and Ind. 116. Corrects nonconforming uses.

• About 17 acres from R-2 to R-4 (single- or two-family units with a front yard setback of 25 feet): corrects all nonconforming lot sizes and many nonconforming setback issues.

• About 5 acres from Local Business (for residential or professional/business/retail units) to General Business (variety of commercial allowances). Corrects nonconforming uses. All of the existing uses on the proposed change are not allowed in LB zone.

• About 105 acres from R-2 to R-8 (highly dense residential). Corrects lot size and setback nonconformities.

• About 14 acres from R-4 to R-8. Corrects lot size nonformities.

• About 20 acres from GB, LB and R-4 to Central Business ("central core area of town). This is the central business district of the Town of Markle. This corrects all lot size and setback issues. All of the existing uses are allowed in CB zone.

Learn more in the Thursday, Jan. 16, News-Banner.