Howard County considering nuisance ordinance; stop sign theft putting public at risk

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People live outside of cities and towns for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they enjoy country living. Maybe they want to be away from the bustle of city life. Some likely retreat to unincorporated areas to avoid taxation.

But there are trade-offs. County residents don't have the same infrastructure. They must rely upon septic systems and wells rather than municipal sewers and water utility. They also must contend with the fact that there are far fewer rules when it comes to how people use their property.

A suburban neighborhood just west of Kokomo is running into the latter challenge, as a county resident along Hickory Lane has decided to start a farm on his residential property.

Darrell Blasius lives on Hickory Lane just outside of Kokomo, and his neighbor, who lives at the intersection of Ind. 22 and Hickory Lane, has erected cages and pens in his front yard, filling them with chickens, turkeys, ducks, goats, and pigs.

"About two or three months ago, we came home and there was a little fence at the back of their utility barn with about eight chickens and three turkeys," said Blasius.

Given that the fenced-in area actually encroached on Blasius' property, the owner agreed to move the pen. It went to the front yard. But the makeshift farm didn't stop there. Since then, the resident has added 20 goats and pigs, Blasius said.

"And there are rabbits and all of these raised gardens," said Blasius. "He's not really mowing the lawn anymore. The cages are getting bigger and bigger, and this weekend he decided to start putting up a privacy fence along Hickory Lane."

Blasius was told by the man that he didn't need to get approval to put up the fence because they live in the county. Howard County Plan Commission Director Greg Sheline provided some insight on the matter, contending that there are a few standards in place that must be met.

"Whoever this gentleman is, he is wrong to say he can do whatever he wants to in the county," said Sheline. "We don't issue permits for fencing, but there are standards they have to follow."

As for the rest of the complaints? None of the county officials spoke up to say what was happening on Hickory Lane violated the law. Still Blasius approached the commissioners, hoping something could be done about the makeshift farm that has been created.

"Is there some kind of regulation on how many animals they can have on the property?" asked Blasius. "The smell is getting to us."

Blasius explained that the neighborhood smells like sewage, and he called the Howard County Board of Health. He claimed that the health department did some testing of the drains in the area and found contamination thousands of times over the safe level.

"They're coming out to put dye in our septic systems so they can find out where that is coming from," said Blasius.

Two other neighbors along Hickory Lane also spoke on the issue. Jim Thomas, who also lives next door to the property in question, is worried about his property value.

"It's just very, very frustrating as neighbors to see all this going on," said Thomas. "It's got to have taken our property value down."

Another resident complained about the rooster crowing, making it difficult to entertain friends or to camp out in his backyard.

Commissioner Jack Dodd responded to the complaints by explaining that the county is investigating the issue.

"I've been out there a couple of times," said Dodd. "It just takes one or two people to make us take actions that we don't want to take."

Dodd confirmed that the health department's dye testing has identified a contamination issue, but that the investigation is still ongoing. More importantly, the issue at Hickory Lane, coupled with a handful of other property use complaints across the county, are forcing the county to look at adopting a nuisance ordinance.

"This is not the only property that we've received complaints about," said Dodd. "There are others where people fail to maintain common-sense courtesy to neighbors. We are going to attempt to address some of these in a county-wide nuisance ordinance.

"But that takes time. We can't just do a knee-jerk reaction. With the three of us (commissioners) working on it, and (county attorney Alan) Mr. Wilson, along with department heads and the planning commission, we'll see what we can come up with."

Dodd further explained that he spoke with the offending resident on Hickory Lane and asked him to clean up the property, hoping that would inspire the man to do so. It appears that talk did not have the desired effect.

"So, a lot of people are looking at this, to see what we can do," said Dodd.

Paving and missing road signs

In other action from the commissioners, the Community Crossings project to improve County Road 1250 East, just north of Ind. 22, was approved at a cost of $516,917.05. The bid was approved, and paving should commence soon.

Howard County Highway Superintendent Amber Tolle also disclosed that there has been a rash of sign thefts in eastern Howard County. In particular, thieves have taken the stop sign at the intersection of County Road 1000 East and County Road 50 South three times over the past few months. An additional five signs were stolen over the weekend of July 13-14.

"I would just like to remind everyone that our street signs are incredibly important for public safety," said Tolle. "If you see someone with a collection of road signs, please remind them they are costing the safety of the public."

Tolle said a handful of street signs are stolen every year. However, the department will accept the return of the signs, no questions asked.