By Ann Marie Shambaugh
Last month the Indiana Supreme Court asked Zionsville and Whitestown to “work together” to submit a single map to help the state’s highest court decide if it will accept jurisdiction on the towns’ boundary dispute.
The two sides were unable to do so.
Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush asked for a single map “that displays the common borders of Zionsville, Whitestown, Perry Township, and the former Union and Eagle Townships, and shows the major highways traversing the area.”
Both sides submitted their own maps after disagreeing on whether or not the court wanted a higher quality version of an existing map – which is what Whitestown submitted – or a new, simplified map, as Zionsville submitted.
The case between the neighboring towns boils down to whether or not Zionsville can legally reorganize with Perry Township – which residents of both entities approved in 2014. Whitestown claims Zionsville and Perry Township can’t merge because they aren’t contiguous, but Zionsville claims they are because an “island” of land that became part of Zionsville during a 2010 reorganization with Eagle Township borders Perry Township.
A Boone County court ruled in Whitestown’s favor, but an appellate court overturned that decision in June. Whitestown has petitioned the Indiana Supreme Court to rule on the matter, but it is not yet known if or when they will decide to do so.
