Neighbors fight central Indiana landowner with 200 vehicles

GASTON, Ind. (AP) - Several dozen people have signed a petition against a central Indiana property owner's request for permission to continue keeping a couple hundred vehicles on the land.

Delaware County officials have cited the owner with operating an auto salvage yard at the rural site near the town of Gaston without zoning approval. Most of the estimated 200 vehicles there are Chevrolet Corvairs manufactured during the 1960s.

Property owner Michael Mckeel tells The (Muncie) Star Press (http://tspne.ws/2sAf6BN ) that collecting Corvairs is a hobby but declined further comment.

The county planning commission has set a July 6 hearing on Mckeel's request for a special zoning permit.

The petition against the request argues he's operating a junk yard that's a source of pollution and rats that's hurting nearby property values.

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Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com