INDIANAPOLIS — There's an effort to preserve wetlands on the south side of Indianapolis. On Tuesday, state officials held a public hearing on controversial plans to develop warehouses along I-65.
“Wetlands not Warehouses” was the message on signs held by dozens of Franklin Township residents at Tuesday’s public hearing held by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).
"We hope that IDEM will tell the developer that they need to preserve the class three wetlands that are on the property,” said Cathy Burton a 65-year Resident who also served as the Land use Chairman for Franklin Township Civic League for 30 of those years.
The push for preservation from residents like Burton comes as warehouse development proposed back in 2021 threatens to destroy high quality wetlands along County Line Road and I-65.
"There are about 45 acres in the 176-acre project that are wetlands that are critical to the area,” said resident Robin Heldman who’s also been spearheading the push. "We're just a little distraught with how much is being destroyed."
Heldman helped was a big part of the “Wetlands not Warehouses” Campaign that collected 2,300 signatures in 2023 urging IDEM to oppose the requested permit from developer Gershman Partners.
The Hoosier Environmental Council says law changes at the state and federal level will make it easier for the developer to build over and destroy these wetlands.
Although reestablishing long-time wetlands is very difficult, they have still lost protections at both levels.
"There are so few wetlands left in Central Indiana and in particular in this watershed,” explained said Indra Frank, the Director of Water Policy for the Hoosier Environmental Council. “Loss of the wetlands means increased risk of flooding; it means loss of the water purification that wetlands can provide.”
"We are losing habitat for our wildlife, we are losing our natural assets, we are losing wetlands which are critical to drainage in Franklin township and that is a huge issue,” added Burton.
However not all residents at Tuesday’s meeting were opposed to the development.
A local farmer believed the property may be able to help with the drainage issue.
"I support this development and believe if the drainage is perpetuated according to law, it will positively affect the entire area,” said the farmer. “To me there is no benefit to area residents to the church or any businesses to come by having a so-called wetland in the middle of suburbia.”
Whether homeowners are for or against the development, they still pushed for transparency in this process to avoid actions that can’t be taken back.
“We need the public to be able to know from the beginning to the end stage what is involved in the area that they live and pay taxes,” explained Heldman.
"There is an opportunity here to create a really environmentally friendly development that will provide economic development to the community as well as the developer but still leave those natural assets intact,” added Burton.
IDEM will now have until May 28 to vote on whether to deny the permit to the developer which would cause them to have to mitigate the wetlands that are being destroyed on the property.
However, if they are not denied, they will not have to mitigate on site.
Only about .25 acres of wetland requires a permit out of the entire development project.
We'll keep you updated on that decision.
