Rodeo, concert venue south of Lafayette looks to settle zoning dispute, neighbors’ complaints

Plus, what’s next in near-campus housing at Purdue. And Bruno’s bowling team strikes again, 20 years later.

Today’s edition of the Based in Lafayette reporting project is sponsored by Purdue University’s Presidential Lecture Series, featuring Purdue President Mitch Daniels’ March 29 conversation with Purdue alumnae Julie Wainwright, founder of The RealReal. For more details, scroll to the end of today’s edition.

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AFTER OPENING IN 2021, RODEO, CONCERT VENUE STATUS IN LIMBO

A poster advertised for a September rodeo and concert at Plaza Rancho Alegre near Romney, in southern Tippecanoe County. (Plaza Rancho Alegre)

With a rezoning plan in limbo amid a swirl of complaints about his fledgling rodeo and concert venue in southern Tippecanoe County, Benito Munoz stood outside an Area Plan Commission hearing, shaking hands with neighbors and telling them he was ready to address concerns that could be enough to stop things at Plaza Rancho Alegre.

Whether that will be enough to persuade county officials will have to wait another month.

Wednesday night, the Area Plan Commission voted 7-3 against a rezoning request that would have been the first step toward what county officials called legitimizing the event center Munoz started hosting in 2021 near the corner of County Roads 400 East and 1300 South. APC rules call for nine members to vote for or against a rezoning to move it along. So, the request will come back April 20.

The rezoning process started after a series of complaints from neighbors in the rural part of the county about loud music, traffic and cars drag racing on the rural roads after events.

APC officials said the 25 acre property – until 2021, home to Foxton Farms, a riding club and stables – would need to be designated as a lesser agricultural zoning than it has now.

And then, Munoz would be in position to ask for a special exception to allow for events. That process, the APC staff noted in its report, would include “likely costly improvements to the farm buildings on site to bring them up to commercial building code standards” as the Board of Zoning Appeals determined whether the venue was the right fit for the area, given lighting, noise, traffic and operating hours.

“They want to have a Woodstock out there,” Jim Lutterloh, who lives north of the site, told the APC. “This isn’t the place to have a Woodstock, believe me.”

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