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Auto body shop wins zoning fight after 2017 fire

Posted at 6:55 AM, Jan 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-19 06:55:50-05

GREENFIELD, Ind. -- After supporters of a 60-year-old Greenfield, Indiana auto body shop crowded a planning commission meeting Thursday night, the business won its zoning fight.

New zoning laws were putting a wrench in Mueller Auto Body Shop's rebuilding plans after a fire destroyed its business last year. 

Matt Pfieffer owns the spot on E. Main Street in Greenfield. He's been operating out of a temporary office space since tragedy struck in November. A fire destroyed the business and damaged nearby shops and a house next door. But Pfieffer won his appeal Thursday night. 

"To rebuild the building exactly like it was was important to me," Pfieffer said. "To continue the same amount of productivity to continue on the way we were, because that's what it takes to be profitable."

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Pfieffer said the City of Greenfield had rezoned the land he and his family owns, and those rezoning laws reated some hurdles for an old business looking for a second chance. 

"Why is there such a problem for us to just go back like we were, when everyone says they're supporting us," Pfieffer said. "I just think it makes the process does look a little daunting for no reason."

The new 15-foot buffer zone meant Pfieffer would have had to rebuild on a slightly smaller scale to adhere to the zoning requirements.

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