APC approves Warren rezoning amid neighbor disputes over shared driveway and flooding; board urges formal maintenance agreement

The Decatur County Area Plan Commission on June 4 approved APC petition 2025‑17, allowing Britney Warren to rezone roughly 2.99 acres of a 17.2‑acre parcel from A‑1 to A‑2 for a single‑family home. The approval followed an extended public discussion about shared driveway access, a natural spring and concerns about flooding and long‑term maintenance of the private access.

Warren told the commission she planned to build a single family residence on the portion of the parcel shown on the submitted exhibit and said an easement provides legal access. Several adjoining property owners, including Pam Bundren and representatives for the Lundgren household, told the board the driveway placed last year by parties associated with the parcel has been wet where it crosses a natural spring and that prior gravel and maintenance contributions promised by property owners were not made.

Board members and the petitioner’s representatives clarified that a recorded 15‑foot ingress and egress easement exists that provides legal access to the landlocked homeowners and that the parcel is not landlocked. County survey and staff testimony noted the easement appears to run over parcel 1100 and that some deed references date to prior owners. An attorney in the meeting said recorded easements frequently do not include formal maintenance agreements and that neighbors often negotiate written maintenance agreements when heavy construction or increased use is anticipated.

Pam Bundren, the adjoining property owner, described repeated wet conditions and erosion in a low area near the driveway and said heavy construction traffic could worsen the condition and damage the one driveway serving her home. Developer representatives and at least one other farmer in the room said the driveway had recently been resurfaced with crushed stone and that they had used it with farm equipment without issue; those speakers suggested additional pipe or grading might address drainage concerns.

The commission approved the rezoning after discussion and a roll call vote. After the approval the APC chair advised the petitioner to “get with whoever owns 1100 and get some kinda agreement wrote up because that is where your driveway will be going through,” and recommended the parties formalize a maintenance arrangement before building begins.

What was decided and next steps: The rezoning passed; septic and driveway approvals were already in the file, county staff said. The board instructed the petitioner to stay in contact with planning staff as she proceeds through building permitting and strongly recommended the petitioner and the easement holder negotiate a written maintenance agreement for the shared driveway and drainage before construction or heavy truck traffic begins.