LAGRANGE – Among the changes to the LaGrange County Zoning Ordinance discussed by the Plan Commission was a crackdown on accessory buildings.

The ordinance currently says accessory buildings must be subordinate in size to the primary building.

But in lake zones especially, those accessory buildings are often larger than the homes they’re associated with and Administrator Robbie Miller says they often include plumbing.

"My concern is should we be looking at square footage of accessory structures to determine if they are subordinate? Single story homes should only have single story accessory buildings and so forth. We have a tendency to have accessory structures now that are larger than our homes. Our ordinance currently says be clearly subordinate in height, area, bulk, intent and purpose to primary use served."

She proposes adding language that says they can be single story structures only without residential plumbing style fixtures.

Plan Commission President Lynn Bowen says it’s just another way that lake zones create pressure on the lakes in Lagrange County.

"I know everybody want overflow. Okay. But what stops somebody from using that overflow structure as a rental? And then that rental will bring a boat, and there's more boat traffic. What I don't want is for our lakes to become Steuben County."

The Plan Commmission must hold a public hearing before any changes can be sent to the county commissioners for action.