St. Joseph County Commissioner President Carl Baxmeyer has proposed a “Taxpayer-First Growth Standard” that would require additional disclosure and impact information for large-scale development projects in the county.

Under Baxmeyer’s proposal, applicants for projects covering at least 25 acres or involving $100 million or more in capital investment would file a statement detailing the project’s operations, infrastructure needs, traffic plans, environmental conditions, workforce estimates, and expected public benefits.

The requirement would apply whether or not a developer seeks county incentives, public financing, infrastructure commitments or other county support, according to Baxmeyer’s announcement.

Projects seeking public support would submit the statement to the Redevelopment Commission, with the information following the proposal through the Area Plan Commission and eventually to the County Council for final consideration.

The proposed statement would include utility capacity information, traffic studies when applicable, truck and emergency access plans, hazardous-waste information, environmental mitigation plans, projected job creation and wages, and a plain-language explanation of requested abatements, tax-increment financing, bonds or public infrastructure commitments.

Baxmeyer said the goal is to ensure commitments related to jobs, infrastructure costs, utility impacts and environmental protections are documented and can be reviewed publicly.

He also voiced support for a proposed tax-increment financing district tied to new development in the Granger area, saying new development should help fund infrastructure needed to support it. The County Council, rather than the commissioners, would vote on that proposal.

County commissioners serve as St. Joseph County’s executive and administrative authority.