The Prairie Creek Phase 2 EDA changes over 30 provisions of Blackford County's wind energy ordinance
The Economic Development Agreement Blackford County executed with RWE Renewables for the Prairie Creek Phase 2 wind project includes an eight-page exhibit titled "Development Standards — Incorporated Ordinance Provisions" that modifies more than 30 provisions of the county's zoning ordinance governing wind energy conversion systems.
The Ledger has completed a section-by-section comparison of the exhibit against the version of the Blackford County Zoning Ordinance in effect on the date of the EDA's execution. The comparison identifies the specific provisions that differ, the direction of each change, and whether the change is substantive or structural.
The full comparison table is provided at the end of this article.
What Exhibit G is
The Prairie Creek Phase 2 EDA is a contract between Blackford County and Prairie Creek Wind Farm II, LLC — a subsidiary of RWE Renewables — governing the wind project. The EDA was executed on July 8, 2026, and was signed by the Blackford County Commissioners (John Lancaster, President; Dan Borgenheimer, Vice President; Laura Coons, Member), attested by County Auditor Lisa Simmons, and agreed to by the Blackford County Council through Council President Jack Beckley.
Attached to the EDA as Exhibit G is a document titled "Development Standards — Incorporated Ordinance Provisions." Section 27 of the EDA — titled "Road Use Agreement; Decommissioning Agreement; Development Standards; Neighbor Payments" — requires that the Project "shall be subject to the Development Standards attached hereto as Exhibit G." Section 27 itself does not address how Exhibit G's provisions relate to the county zoning ordinance or to any future ordinance amendments.
The mechanism by which Exhibit G purports to modify the county zoning ordinance appears in the preamble of Exhibit G itself. The preamble states:
The following provisions shall be read as amending the Blackford County Zoning Ordinance in effect as of the Effective Date (the 'Current Ordinance'). For ease of reference, the provisions in this Exhibit use the section numbering and headings from the Current Ordinance.
The preamble further provides that "to the extent of any direct conflict between a provision of this Exhibit and a substantively equivalent provision of a later-enacted ordinance, the provision of this Exhibit shall control," subject to Section 27.
The Ledger obtained the complete executed Economic Development Agreement and its exhibits, including Exhibit G, through a public records request.
The exhibit uses the same section numbering as Article 10 of the current county zoning ordinance, which governs wind energy conversion systems. Where Exhibit G restates a provision, that restatement may modify, add to, or omit language present in the current ordinance. In some sections, Exhibit G is silent on a provision present in the current ordinance.
The direction of the changes
Of the more than 30 provisions the Ledger identified as differing between Exhibit G and the current ordinance:
11 provisions are tightened — meaning Exhibit G imposes a stricter standard on the developer than the current ordinance. These include higher application fees ($25,000 versus $20,000), higher permit fees per megawatt ($2,500 versus $1,700), a taller required security fence around towers (12 feet versus 6 feet), greater minimum blade clearance (25 feet versus 15 feet), a larger decommissioning bond (125 percent of estimated cost versus 100 percent), expanded warning signage requirements, and a new requirement that ownership changes be reported to the county.
14 provisions are loosened — meaning Exhibit G reduces a protection, requirement, or oversight mechanism present in the current ordinance. These include a change in sound measurement methodology from an octave-band standard covering low-frequency sound to a dB(A) scale that attenuates low-frequency sound, an apparent removal of setback requirements from roadways, railroads, and overhead electrical transmission lines, a narrowing of residence and property line setback protections to non-participating landowners only, the elimination of the requirement that a professional engineer certify foundation and tower design given local soil and climate conditions, and the replacement of specific mechanical braking requirements (redundant braking, fail-safe mechanical brakes, prohibition on stall regulation as sufficient over-speed protection) with a generic "industry-accepted" standard.
7 provisions are seemingly new — meaning Exhibit G introduces new language, specifically citing where, if included in the ordinances, they would sit. These include adding "Performance Guarantee," "Non-Participating Landowner," and "Participating Landowner" as definitions, requiring notification upon WECS ownership change, and others.
14 provisions are ambiguous — meaning Exhibit G does not restate a provision present in the current ordinance. Under a strict reading of the exhibit's "shall be read as amending" preamble, these provisions may be eliminated. Under a charitable reading, they may remain in force through the current ordinance. Provisions in this category include the requirement that the WECS owner maintain a general liability insurance policy naming Blackford County as an additional insured with minimum coverage of two million dollars per occurrence and five million dollars in the aggregate, the requirement that decommissioning include removal of physical material to a depth of 48 inches beneath the soil surface, annual maintenance reporting to the county's Executive Director, recertification of any physical modification that alters mechanical load or major electrical components, and the Executive Director's authority to inspect WECS installations at any reasonable time.
3 provisions are structural changes — meaning Exhibit G changes the procedural framework or authority governing an area rather than making it more or less strict. The most significant is Section 1011, "Waivers." Under the current ordinance, any waiver of Article 10 requirements requires application to the county, public hearings before the Board of Zoning Appeals, a BZA recommendation, and County Commissioners' approval. Under Exhibit G, waivers of setback, sound, and shadow flicker provisions are triggered automatically by written consent from an affected landowner or municipality. The public hearing, BZA review, and Commissioners' vote are eliminated for these provisions.
The remaining provisions are new additions, no-change restatements, or definitional additions.
A notation left in the executed document
Section 1006.4 of Exhibit G addresses the required setback distance from municipalities. The provision reads: "All WECS towers shall have a setback of 1500 feet (RWE says current standard) from any municipalities, unless written consent is provided waiving this requirement by any affected municipality."
The parenthetical annotation "RWE says current standard" appears in the executed document. The 1500-foot figure matches the setback distance in the current county zoning ordinance's Section 1006.4. RWE Renewables' representation to the county appears to have been accurate. However, the annotation itself was retained in the version passed by the Commissioners and Council.
The current ordinance's version of this provision does not contain a waiver mechanism. Exhibit G's version adds one, allowing an affected municipality to waive the setback by written consent.
A limitation the current ordinance places on the "controlling" claim
Exhibit G's preamble claims that in the event of a conflict between an Exhibit G provision and a substantively equivalent provision of a later-enacted county ordinance, "the provision of this Exhibit shall control." That claim appears in the preamble of Exhibit G itself. It is not made by any operative section of the underlying EDA.
The current Blackford County Zoning Ordinance contains its own general rule addressing how private agreements interact with zoning provisions. Section 105 of the ordinance provides that "where this ordinance imposes a greater restriction upon the use of buildings or premises than is imposed or required by such existing provisions of law or by such rules, regulations, agreements, covenants, or permits, the provisions of the ordinance shall control; but where such private covenants, permits, agreements, rules or regulations impose a greater restriction than is imposed by this ordinance, the greater restriction shall control."
Under Section 105 of the current ordinance, a private agreement's provisions govern only where the private provisions are more restrictive than the ordinance. Where a future ordinance is more restrictive than a corresponding provision of Exhibit G, Section 105 provides that the more restrictive ordinance controls.
What Blackford County officials say Exhibit G is
In an interview with the Ledger, Warren Brown, Executive Director of the Blackford County Economic Development Corporation, described Exhibit G's provisions as negotiated contractual terms rather than amendments to the county's zoning ordinance. When asked about the preamble language stating that Exhibit G "shall be read as amending the Blackford County Zoning Ordinance," Brown said the language was inaccurate.
"That's not accurate," Brown said. "That was an oversight for all of us. So call a bad on us for allowing that to happen. It's a provision. That's all it is is a provision. There was no ordinance amended."
Brown said the provisions in Exhibit G were drawn from a draft zoning ordinance revision that had been presented to Hartford City, was not adopted, and has remained under review by the Area Plan Commission. Brown said the county chose to incorporate provisions from that draft into the private Prairie Creek Phase 2 EDA rather than delay the project while the ordinance revision worked its way through the standard adoption process.
Commissioner Dan Borgenheimer, who signed the EDA, and who also serves as President of the Blackford County Economic Development Corporation Board, characterized the provisions similarly. "They were all negotiated and they were really provisions in the proposed ordinance that were going to make things better for the citizens of Blackford County," Borgenheimer said. He said the incorporation of the provisions into the EDA was intended to "give credit to the folks that spent all that time developing that revised ordinance, putting it together" and to acknowledge that "some of their ideas were worthy and belonged in the amendment."
The Ledger notes that the executed text of Exhibit G describes the provisions using language that treats them as ordinance modifications rather than as contractual terms. The preamble states that the provisions "shall be read as amending the Blackford County Zoning Ordinance in effect as of the Effective Date," and provides that Exhibit G's provisions "shall control" over a substantively equivalent provision of a later-enacted ordinance. The exhibit uses the section numbering and headings of the current ordinance's Article 10, and each provision restates, modifies, adds to, or omits language present in the current ordinance.
Whether the county's characterization of Exhibit G's provisions as contractual rather than as ordinance amendments — despite the executed document's language — is legally sustainable is a question the Ledger has referred to independent Indiana attorneys and to the Indiana Public Access Counselor.
Before publication, the Ledger provided Brown and Borgenheimer with a list of provisions the comparison identified as loosening the standards of the current ordinance and asked for a response on each. Brown said the time required to respond to the items exceeded the time available to him, and declined to address them individually.
Complete comparison table
The following table compares each Article 10 provision of the Blackford County Zoning Ordinance, revised November 2023, against the corresponding provision in Exhibit G to the Prairie Creek Phase 2 EDA. Verbatim quotations from either document are placed in quotation marks. Other descriptions are paraphrases that reflect the substance of the provisions accurately but not word-for-word.
Legend:
TIGHTENING — Exhibit G imposes a stricter standard than the current ordinance
LOOSENING — Exhibit G reduces protection, requirement, or oversight
STRUCTURAL — Exhibit G changes procedure or authority rather than substantive rigor
AMBIGUOUS — Current ordinance provision is not restated in Exhibit G; whether it remains in effect depends on interpretation
NEW — Exhibit G adds a provision not present in current ordinance
NO CHANGE — Exhibit G restates the current provision without material modification
# | Section | Current Ordinance (Rev. November 2023) | Exhibit G (Prairie Creek Phase 2 EDA) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Preamble | Standard Article 10 governed by IC 36-7-4 amendment procedures via Article 7 of the ordinance | "The following provisions shall be read as amending the Blackford County Zoning Ordinance in effect as of the Effective Date... to the extent of any direct conflict between a provision of this Exhibit and a substantively equivalent provision of a later-enacted ordinance, the provision of this Exhibit shall control." | STRUCTURAL |
2 | 1002.13 Performance Guarantee | No definition present | Defines Performance Guarantee as developer agreement guaranteeing construction cost estimate | NEW |
3 | 1002.14 Non-Participating Landowner | No definition present | "Non-Participating Landowner shall mean a landowner who has not entered into a lease(s), easements, or any other agreements with wind developers/owners." | NEW |
4 | 1002.15 Participating Landowner | No definition present | "Participating Landowner shall mean a landowner who has entered into lease(s), easements or other agreements with the wind developers/owners." | NEW |
5 | 1004.2(A)(VI) Wind Data | Not required for special exception application | "Wind Data findings from met towers (high-level summary, non-reliance basis)." | NEW |
6 | 1004.2(C) Special Exception Validity | Special exception valid for one (1) year; one-year extension granted upon presentation of a progress report to the BZA. Extension request has no defined fee. Maximum period 2 years. | Special exception valid for two (2) years; two-year extension granted upon BZA approval of a progress report. Extension fees: 50% of original permit fee for 1-6 month extension, 100% for 7-12 month extension. Maximum period 4 years. | MIXED — LOOSENING TIMELINE / TIGHTENING FEE STRUCTURE |
7 | 1004.2(D) Special Exception Fee | Initial fee $20,000, total capped at $100,000 | Initial fee $25,000, total capped at $150,000 | TIGHTENING |
8 | 1004.3(C) Variance Fee | "The fee for any variances is included in the application fee." | "Must pay fees in an amount of $5000 for each variance in addition to the initial application fee." | TIGHTENING |
9 | 1004.4(A) Improvement Location Permit Requirements | Requires 12 specific items (I-XII) including above-ground utility line locations, underground utility line locations, dimensional structural components, electrical schematic, manufacturer specs, professional engineer wind-load certification, requirement that all turbines be new commercial equipment, recorded easements, transportation plan, revegetation plan, fire protection plan, and any other item requested by Executive Director | Restates only three items: VII (recorded easements), X (revegetation plan), XI (fire protection plan) | LOOSENING |
10 | 1004.4(D) Permit Fee | "$1,700.00 per megawatt (MW) capacity" | "$2,500.00 per megawatt (MW) capacity" | TIGHTENING |
11 | 1004.4(E) Dust/Mud Control | Not present at 1004.4 (handled under Section 1007) | Adds: "Dust/mud control measure shall be required... Best management practices for dust/mud control will include calcium chloride or such other measure as be submitted by the owner and/or applicant and approved by the Executive Director within one business day of submittal." | NEW |
12 | 1005.1 Design Safety Certification | (A) Third-party testing certificate required. (B) "Following the granting of the special exception by the BZA, a professional engineer shall certify, as part of the Improvement Location Permit application that the foundation and tower design of the WECS is within accepted professional standards, given local soil and climate conditions." | Retains only the third-party testing certificate requirement. Omits requirement that a professional engineer certify foundation and tower design for local soil and climate conditions. | LOOSENING |
13 | 1005.2 Controls and Brakes | "The WECS shall be equipped with a redundant braking system. This includes both aerodynamic over speed controls (including variable pitch, tip, and other similar systems) and mechanical brakes. Mechanical brakes shall be operated in a fail-safe mode. Stall regulation shall not be considered a sufficient braking system for over speed protection." | "1. All WECS shall have industry-accepted brake equipment. 2. All WECS shall have industry-accepted fire fighting equipment." | LOOSENING |
14 | 1005.3(B) Underground Cables | Cables to be underground unless on public/utility rights-of-way or with prior county approval | Same as current ordinance, plus adds new exception: "or in locations where 2 or more collection cables join together (above ground junction boxes)" | LOOSENING (minor) |
15 | 1005.4 Color and Finish | Section titled "COLOR." "Towers and blades shall be painted white or gray or another non-reflective, unobtrusive color." | Section titled "COLOR AND FINISH." "All WECS turbine towers and blades shall be painted white or light gray or another non-reflective, unobtrusive color. Finishes shall be matte or non-reflective color." Adds explicit FAA compliance requirement. | TIGHTENING (minor) |
16 | 1005.5 Warnings | Section titled "WARNINGS." (A) Warning sign concerning voltage at base of pad-mounted transformers and substations. (B) "Visible, reflective, colored objects, such as flags, reflectors, or tape shall be placed on the anchor points of guy wires and along the guy wires up to a height of not less than fifteen (15) feet from the ground." | Section titled "WARNINGS/SAFETY." Expanded signage requirements including turbine ID numbers, emergency contact information, and posted emergency shutdown procedures. Does not restate the guy wire reflective marking requirement. | TIGHTENING on signage; AMBIGUOUS/LOOSENING on guy wire markings |
17 | 1005.6 Climb Prevention | Fences "at least six feet high" | Fences "at least twelve (12') feet high" | TIGHTENING |
18 | 1005.7 Blade Clearance | Minimum blade-to-ground distance "fifteen (15) feet" | Minimum blade-to-ground distance "twenty-five (25) feet" | TIGHTENING |
19 | 1005.8 Sound/Noise | Section titled "NOISE AND VIBRATION." Specifies maximum sound pressure levels in octave bands from 63 Hz to 8000 Hz, with limits ranging from 75 dB at low frequencies to 41 dB at high frequencies, measured within 200 feet of any primary residence. Provides for Executive Director to require formal noise study following complaints. | Section titled "SOUND LEVELS." "Any WECS Tower shall not produce sound levels exceeding 50 decibels, one-hour LEQ as measured on the dB(A) scale at a non-participating primary residence, unless written consent is provided waiving this requirement." | LOOSENING (methodology change from octave-band to dB(A) attenuates low-frequency sound; narrows to non-participating only; omits complaint-triggered noise study; adds waiver) |
20 | 1005.9 Utility Interconnection | Requires interconnection to public electrical utility system per utility's then-current service regulations | Identical text | NO CHANGE |
21 | 1005.10 Waste Management | "All solid waste... shall be removed from the site in a timely manner consistent with industry standards. All hazardous waste generated by the operation and maintenance of the facility, including but not limited to lubricating materials, shall be handled in a manner consistent with all local, state and federal rules and regulations." | Not restated | AMBIGUOUS |
22 | 1005.11(A) Lighting | "Except with respect to lighting required by the FAA all lighting shall be shielded so that no glare extends beyond the boundaries of the property on which the WECS is sited." | Section 1005.11 restructured to address sound (1005.11(A)), shadow flicker (1005.11(B)), and unsafe declarations (1005.11(D)). Lighting provision not restated in this section. | AMBIGUOUS |
23 | 1005.11(B) Shadow Flicker | Not present in current ordinance's 1005.11 | Adds: WECS towers "designed and placed so that any dwelling on a non-participating primary structure will not experience more than 30 hours per year of shadow flicker, unless written consent is provided waiving this requirement by the owner of an affected non-participating property." | NEW (with waiver mechanism) |
24 | 1005.11(D) Unsafe Declaration | Current Section 1005.11(B): "Any WECS thereof declared to be unsafe by the Executive Director by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence, fire hazard, disaster, damage or abandonment is hereby declared to be a public nuisance..." | Requires declaration by "the Executive Director AND the Commissioners" (not either/or), and adds threshold: "Cause is defined as an imminent threat to human life or injury or a significant safety issue that could have implications thereof." | LOOSENING (requires two bodies rather than one; raises threshold) |
25 | 1005.12 Preemption Savings Clause | "Nothing in this section is intended to preempt other applicable state and federal laws and regulations." | Not restated | AMBIGUOUS |
26 | 1006.1 Setback/Easement/ROW Prohibition | "No WECS shall be constructed in any setback, dedicated public easement or dedicated public right-of-way without prior written authorization from the county commissioners." | Not restated | AMBIGUOUS |
27 | 1006.2 Property Line Setback | "Installation of any WECS may not be nearer than three hundred fifty (350) feet or one and one-tenth (1.1) times the height of the WECS Tower height, whichever is greater, to any property lines, dedicated roadway, railroad right-of-way or overhead electrical transmission or distribution lines." | "All WECS Towers shall have a setback of 1.1 times turbine height from the property line of any non-participating property, unless written consent is provided waiving this requirement by the owner of an affected non-participating property." | LOOSENING (removes 350-foot minimum floor; removes setback from roadways, railroads, electrical utility lines; narrows to non-participating only; adds waiver) |
28 | 1006.3 Residence Setback | "Individual turbines shall be set back one thousand (1,000) feet or more from any existing or occupied residence... Setbacks still apply to right of ways and existing residence, church or school in this case." | "All WECS Towers shall have a setback of 1,000 feet from any occupied residence of any non-participating property, unless written consent is provided waiving this requirement by the owner of an affected non-participating property." | LOOSENING (narrows to non-participating only; removes explicit reservation for churches and schools; adds waiver) |
29 | 1006.4 Municipality Setback | "The setback distance for the WECS will be fifteen hundred (1500) feet from any municipality. Distance shall be measured from the center of the foundation at the base of the WECS to the closest corporate limit boundary line." | "All WECS Towers shall have a setback of 1500 feet (RWE Says Current Standard) from any Municipalities, unless written consent is provided waiving this requirement by any affected municipality." | LOOSENING (same distance but adds waiver mechanism; contains executed-document annotation attributing standard to developer) |
30 | 1007 Use of Roads/Services | Comprehensive road use section: pre-construction baseline survey by Commissioners; commissioner-ordered remediation of road damage; corporate surety bond potentially required by Commissioners; dust control during construction; sewer/water compliance; drainage repair to near-original condition | Only addresses 1007.1(B): "An acceptable dust/mud control measure to the County shall be use of calcium chloride or otherwise as approved by the Highway Superintendent." | AMBIGUOUS |
31 | 1008.1(A) Annual Maintenance Reports | Requires annual summary of operation and maintenance reports to Executive Director, plus additional reports as reasonably requested | Not restated | AMBIGUOUS |
32 | 1008.1(B) Recertification for Modifications | Requires re-certification for any physical modification altering mechanical load, mechanical load path, or major electrical components | Not restated | AMBIGUOUS |
33 | 1008.1(C) Executive Director Inspection Authority | "The Executive Director, along with licensed third-party professionals retained by the county... shall have the right, at any reasonable time and with sufficient prior notice, to accompany the owner or operator, or its agent, on the premises where a WECS has been constructed, to inspect all parts of said WECS installation and to require that repairs or alterations be made." | Not restated | AMBIGUOUS |
34 | 1008.1(D) Annual Inspection Authority | "Inspections, at a fee to be determined from time to time by the Commission and paid by the applicant, may be made by the Executive Director, or by a qualified inspector for equipment of this type selected by the Executive Director, no more than once annually to certify the safety and maintenance of the WECS and accessory structures." | "Inspections may be made by the APC, or by a qualified inspector for equipment of this type selected by the APC, no more than once annually to certify the safety and maintenance of the WECS and accessory structures." | STRUCTURAL (changes inspecting body from Executive Director to Area Plan Commission; removes applicant-paid fee mechanism) |
35 | 1008.2 Interference | "If, after construction of the WECS, the owner or operator receives a written complaint related to interference with local broadcast residential television, telecommunication, communication or microwave transmissions, the owner or operator shall take reasonable steps to resolve the complaint." | "Based on the submitted ComSearch reports on the project which indicated no areas of concern, the project shall otherwise comply with the ordinance provisions regarding signal interferences and sound." | LOOSENING (replaces complaint-response mechanism with preemptive declaration based on developer-submitted reports) |
36 | 1008.3(C) Fire Law Compliance | "Nothing in this section shall alleviate the need to comply with all other applicable fire laws and regulations." | Not restated | AMBIGUOUS |
37 | 1008.4 Materials Handling | Explicit requirements for solid waste and hazardous materials handling, storage, transportation, and disposal per federal, state, and local laws | Not restated | AMBIGUOUS |
38 | 1009 Liability Insurance | "The Owner or Operator of the WECS(s) shall maintain a current General Liability Policy covering bodily injury and property damage and name Blackford County as an additional insured with limits of at least two million dollars ($2,000,000) per occurrence and five million dollars ($5,000,000) in the aggregate with a deductible of no more than five thousand dollars ($5,000)." | Not restated | AMBIGUOUS |
39 | 1010(B) Decommissioning Financial Assurance | "Financial assurance in an amount at least equal to said demolition and removal Contractor Cost Estimate" (100%) | "Financial assurance in the amount of one hundred twenty five percent (125%) of the said demolition and removal Contractor Cost Estimate" | TIGHTENING |
40 | 1010 Decommissioning Depth | "Applicant's obligations with respect to decommissioning shall include removal of all physical material pertaining to the project improvements to a depth of forty-eight inches (48") beneath the soil surface, and restoration of the area occupied by the project improvements to as near as practicable to the same condition that existed immediately before construction." | Not restated | AMBIGUOUS |
41 | 1010 Decommissioning 12-Month Deadline | Requires facilities to be "properly decommissioned within twelve (12) months of expiration or earlier termination of the project" | Not restated | AMBIGUOUS |
42 | 1010 Decommissioning Cost Estimate Preparation | Cost estimates by licensed engineer selected by project and approved by APC and Commissioners; re-evaluated every four years | Similar substantive requirements; adds new-estimate-before-sale requirement | TIGHTENING (minor) |
43 | 1010 Default Cure Period | "Such written notice shall provide the Owner and Operator a reasonable time period, not to exceed sixty (60) days, for good faith negotiations to resolve the alleged default(s)." | "Failure to materially comply with any of the above provisions shall constitute a default under this article with notice to the Owner and Operator and opportunity to cure." | LOOSENING (removes 60-day cure period cap; leaves "opportunity to cure" undefined) |
44 | 1011 Waivers | "Requirements of this Article may be waived by the County Commissioners upon application by the owner or operator and after public hearings before, and with the recommendation of, the BZA." | Section not present. Waiver mechanisms scattered through individual provisions (1005.8, 1005.11(B), 1006.2, 1006.3, 1006.4), all operating on landowner or municipality "written consent" | STRUCTURAL / LOOSENING |
45 | 1012 WECS Ownership | Not present in current ordinance | Requires owner/operator to inform Executive Director of Planning and Zoning, Commissioners, and Council of ownership/operation changes during project life; requires new bonding upon ownership change | NEW / TIGHTENING |
About this analysis
The Ledger obtained the complete executed Economic Development Agreement between Blackford County and Prairie Creek Wind Farm II, LLC, including Exhibit G, through a public records request. The current Blackford County Zoning Ordinance, revised November 2023, is publicly available on the Blackford County government website.
The comparison table above was compiled by a section-by-section review of the two documents. Where Exhibit G restates a provision from the current ordinance, that provision was compared to the current ordinance version and the direction of any change identified. Where Exhibit G is silent on a provision present in the current ordinance, the provision is identified as ambiguous. Where Exhibit G adds a provision not present in the current ordinance, that provision is identified as new.
The Ledger has not resolved the legal question of whether Exhibit G's modifications to the county zoning ordinance were adopted in accordance with the statutory procedures for zoning ordinance amendments under Indiana Code 36-7-4. That question is under continuing inquiry and will be the subject of a future article.
Members of the public wishing to review the source documents may request copies from us by emailing help@TheBlackfordLedger.com