St. Joseph County Area Plan Commission

S&H Auto Group's attorney, George Lepeniotis, told the St. Joseph County Area Plan Commission Tuesday that they mistakenly paved and started to fence a new parking lot without realizing they needed to obtain a rezoning and building permit. But the commission wasn't swayed.

The St. Joseph County Area Plan Commission will meet Tuesday to consider whether to retroactively recommend zoning approval of a used car dealer's request to add a fenced parking lot.

After receiving the St. Joseph County Area Plan Commission's unfavorable recommendation Tuesday, the rezoning request needed for a data center near New Carlisle goes to the county council for a final vote Sept. 23.

The St. Joseph County Council-passed zoning change would force solar developers to compensate property owners within a mile if their property values decline after a solar farm starts operating.

The developer wants to rezone 1,057 acres along scenic Chicago Trail, designated as green space or agriculture in county and town plans, to build a data center. New Carlisle town officials say they'll already have their hands full with the massive data center that Amazon is building nearby.