BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS

Regular Meeting
January 18, 2006

M I N U T E S

The regular meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals was held on January 18, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. in the Porter County Administration Center, 155 Indiana Avenue, Valparaiso, Indiana.

Those members present were Richard Burns, Robert Detert and James Robertson. Staff members present were Fred M. Siminski, Attorney Kenneth Elwood and Toni Byers.

Mr. Burns moved to waive reading of the minutes for the 12-21-05 BZA meeting and to approve them as received in the mail. Mr. Detert seconded the motion, which carried on a 3-0 voice vote.

Election of Officers:

Mr. Detert moved to nominate James Robertson as Chairman for the 2006 year. Mr. Burns seconded the motion, which carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Burns moved to nominate Marvin Brickner as Vice-Chairman for the 2006 year. Mr. Detert seconded the motion, which carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Old Business

Case 98-V-50. Regarding the matter of Robert Grant, 1040 Country Creek Lane, Chesterton, whose TCO has expired and the mobile home still sits in the subdivision, Country Creek Estates, in Jackson Township.

Mr. Siminski stated that Jack Clem did an inspection last week. He stated that the trailer is now off the property and out of the subdivision, so the matter of the trailer is over. He stated that the other thing, though, that we’ll have to deal with, he does have two semis that remain on his property that just sit. He stated that it’s the boxes only. He stated that you’re not really supposed to have that unless you’re under construction and he’s completed. He stated that he’s actually residing in the…

Mr. Detert asked, they’re off the wheels, sitting on the ground as storage containers?

Mr. Siminski stated that that’s more of a zoning matter than it is…but the mobile home is now gone, because he did have it sitting there for about 2 and a half months.





Mr. Detert asked, are you going to put that on the agenda of the Plan Commission for further…

Mr. Siminski stated, well, I’m going to follow up on it, on the trailer. He stated that he was sent a letter by Karen Tallian about it and he was asked to be here tonight and I do not see him.

Mr. Burns asked, is he living in these trailers?

Mr. Siminski stated, no.

Mr. Burns asked, they’re just for storage?

Mr. Siminski stated, yes, for storage purposes.

Mr. Burns asked, are they on his property or adjacent to his property?

Mr. Siminski stated, um, the line…it should be his property, from all I could see in the Auditor’s department. He stated that that is his property where he built his home.

Mr. Burns asked, I’m wondering if Counsel should send a letter, like we did with the trailer directing him to remove the two trailers.

Mr. Elwood stated, yes, that’s fine.

Mr. Detert stated that we’ve been fooling around with this for a long time.

Mr. Burns asked, I guess, asking Counsel – 30 days, give him 30 days?

Mr. Elwood stated, yes.

Mr. Siminski asked, do we want to deny this…I don’t know if we did that in the past…Case 98-V-50? He stated that maybe we should just deny this?

Mr. Burns moved to deny Case 98-V-50 and for the Board attorney to send a letter stating that he should remove the two semi-trailers within 30 days. Mr. Detert seconded the motion, which carried on a 3-0 roll call vote.

Case 05-SE-4. Petition of Brent and Dianne Cutler, 372 E. 1325 N., Chesterton, seeking a Special Exception to permit a riding stable, to be located at 1327 N. 375 E., in Pine Township. (This Case was continued from the 12-21-05 meeting, with the public hearing closed.)

Mr. Robertson stated that I understand that the counsel has asked that this be continued until the next meeting.



Mr. Detert moved to continue Case 05-SE-4 to the 2-15-06 BZA meeting. Mr. Burns seconded the motion, which carried on a 3-0 roll call vote.

New Business:

Case 06-V-1. Petition of Ann Marie MacDonald, P.O. Box 693, Beverly Shores, seeking a Variance to permit construction of a 1,632-square-foot two-story garage, larger than the 1,200 square feet allowed in a subdivision, and to allow said garage to be 23 feet in height, taller than the 18 feet in height permitted by the ordinance, to be located at 421 E. Golfwood Road, in Pine Township.

Attorney Terry Hiestand stated that he is representing and accompanied by the petitioner in this matter. He stated that Ms. MacDonald lives at what is probably the end of the world in terms of present and future development. He stated that most of you are probably familiar with the stoplight at Beverly Shores on Highway 12. He stated that if you turn right there and then turn right again you would be on a street…I think we’ve got some photographs in the file…that street that dead-ends at the property where the petitioners live. He stated, in fact, beyond that, beginning with their property, the street has been vacated. He stated that the property immediately West of their property is a large undeveloped piece that has a house on the West end of it that’s accessed directly off of Highway 12, so, if you’re going down this road you’re going to their house. he stated that there’s nothing really else there, and the house is a little bit unique in that the house that was originally there burned down and there was a large barn on the property and the petitioners have converted that barn to a residence where three sisters live and take care of their mother who’s in the 80’s. He stated that one of the problems that they had is while they have plenty of room in the house they need an area to park their vehicles. He stated that they typically have four vehicles on the property, maybe five vehicles, depending, and they’d also like an area that they could have their computers and so forth located in. He stated that they have no workshop space because, of course, the barn has no basement, but in order to accommodate their needs their accessory structure that they are proposing would be larger than what would be normally allowed in the ordinance for a property in a subdivision. He stated that this is nominally in a subdivision in that it’s a subdivided lot as far as the legal description is concerned. He stated that what they are proposing is to build a structure very much in the same character as the barn that they currently live in. He stated that in other words, it would be a two-story structure. He stated that it would be proportionate to the house, the barn that they’ve converted into a house, and it would have some of the same architectural features in terms of the same windows and so forth, the same contractor, and so on as they currently have in the residence. He stated that we have prepared findings as to why it would be appropriate to have them have a barn of a footprint of 24 by 34 and because it’s two stories it would be 23 feet to the peak, as far as height is concerned. He stated that pointing out some of the things that I’ve already alluded to, that is, that the property that surrounds it is unimproved. He



stated that the construction, instead of being a small garage next to this large barn-like structure would be aesthetically matched to the residence currently on the property. He stated that there are no improved properties immediately around it to be affected by this improvement, but the proposed improvements will add value to the petitioner’s property and to the surrounding area and the difficulty is that they’re without a basement or an accessory structure for storage, like a small garden shed on the property, and they need a place to put automobiles and to store used tools and equipment and computers, so we would ask a favorable consideration to allow this accessory structure to be built to a size larger than contemplated by your 1,200 foot restriction.

No one spoke in favor of this petition.

No one spoke against this petition.

The public hearing was then closed.

Mr. Detert stated, I don’t see a problem with this. He stated that I think the building, from the description, that we’ve been given of it would be compatible with the house. He stated that I think they do have a hardship. He stated that the alternative for storage, etc., would be to build a third structure on there, and I think this is a better solution, so I wouldn’t have any objection to it. He stated that I just have one caveat: I would not ever want to see this turned into any kind of living or rental quarters, so I want that understood from the beginning, and, if you agree to that, fine.

Mr. Hiestand stated that I don’t think we have any problem with that restriction.

Mr. Burns stated, basically, I don’t have any problem with it. He asked, this won’t be attached? He asked, there will be no attachment to the house?

Mr. Hiestand stated that the plan is not to have it be attached. He stated that the barn converted to a house sits here and this will (inaudible) and there will be a space in between the house structure, the former barn structure, and the new barn structure.

Mr. Detert moved to approve Case 06-V-1, with the understanding that it will never be turned into residential quarters or a business; incorporating the petitioner’s proposed findings of fact, said findings being in the file. Mr. Burns seconded the motion, which carried on the following ballot vote:

Burns - Yes Detert - Yes Robertson - Yes

Case 06-UV-1. Petition of Steve Stockman, 36 S. 600 W., Hebron, seeking a Use Variance to permit operation of a gutter business, with outside storage, to be located at 36 S. 600 W., in Porter Township.

Mr. Stockman stated that I’m asking for a Use Variance to continue parking my trailers out behind my house, my garage. He stated that I’ve lived there for 13 years and I’ve been in business for about 10 years. He stated that I was notified probably about four months ago that I had an outside storage container sitting out behind my garage that was sitting on the ground. He stated that I was notified that it was not supposed to be there. He stated that I was using it to store my boat, lawnmower and four-wheelers and it wasn’t anything to do with the business. He stated that I had it removed and was also told that I had a violation of a pool fence, that I needed to get up. He stated that it took me some time to get it done, but I got it taken care of. He stated that the pool fence is up and what I’m asking for the Use Variance for is simply to be able to keep parking my trailers there. He stated that we try to keep them out on jobs. He stated that we don’t operate any part of the business out of our home. He stated that we don’t have employees coming there. He stated that we don’t do any dealings out of our home. He stated that we simply are usually faxed orders over our fax machine and we go do jobs, that’s how we operate our business and that’s the reason that we’re seeking the Variance. He stated that I haven’t had any complaints from any of the neighbors to try to help all of them out. He stated that I’ve lived there for 13 years and I’ve tried to improve it since I moved in.

No one spoke in favor of this petition.

No one spoke against this petition.

At this time, Mr. Robertson read a letter in opposition from Buford and Geneva Sherman, 12094 Hwy 437 in Liberty, KY.

Mr. Stockman asked, if that Kentucky?

Mr. Robertson stated that it is.

Mr. Stockman stated that they own the property adjoining me on the back side of my property. He stated that they own one lot. He stated that I’ve attempted to buy from them just to extend my yard over. He stated that I’ve brought pictures tonight that I was gonna show you. He stated that I took pictures of where the trailers actually sit. He stated that it would be directly behind the trailers, it would be to the North.

Mr. Robertson asked, is there a residence there or does he just own the property?

Mr. Stockman stated, no, he just owns one lot. He stated that it’s a 90 by 110-foot lot.

Kerri Stockman stated that it’s just trees and tall grass.

Mr. Stockman stated that it actually is just overgrown. He stated that we’ve cleaned up the edges of it a little bit to make it look respectable.

The public hearing was then closed.

Mr. Siminski stated, just for clarification, the Stockmans live on 600 W., but their lots are so deep that they actually face Delmar Court in the back, so it goes from the front all the way to the back so there’s no confusion.

Mr. Robertson stated, and the fellow that’s complaining is to the back, Lot 13.

Mr. Stockman stated, one lot to the North. He stated that to the North, I believe, there’s four lots that are overgrown with trees and, to the South, I believe there is also 2 or 3 lots on either side of me that are just grown over.

Mr. Detert stated that you’ve got quite a few trailers there and I’m trying to figure out how many are associated with the business. He stated that this one picture shows an RV.

Mr. Stockman stated that that’s just personal. He stated that the other one is a snowmobile trailer and that’s not associated with the business. He stated that the little one in the middle we haul four-wheelers on, ATV’s. He stated that I set those off separate for that reason.

Mr. Detert stated, and then you’ve got another trailer here.

Mr. Stockman stated, that’s just an equipment trailer.

Mr. Detert stated, and you’ve got a lift bucket or something.

Mr. Stockman stated that that is there roughly a couple times during the year when it’s moved between jobs. He stated that I try to leave it on jobs as much as possible. He stated that I don’t try to bring that home at all.

Mr. Detert stated that I’d kind of prefer to see that much equipment inside.

Mr. Stockman stated that my goal is…the people that are in Kentucky, they’re to the North of me. He stated that to the South, on the other side of me, there are two lots that there are some people in Linwood, IL, that own them. He stated that they have actually just now put a price on them to where I can purchase them. He stated that if I did I would have no problem parking some of that stuff in some kind of shed or something. He stated that that would be my goal later on is to be able to get that little bit of extra property so I could put everything inside, because I obviously don’t want to…

Mr. Detert asked, would you build a pole barn on it?

Mr. Stockman stated, something like that. He stated, not a big pole barn, just enough to get those inside so they’re out of sight and so they’re in something.

Mr. Detert stated that this lift truck here appears to be fairly new. He stated that it would certainly be to your advantage to keep that equipment inside.

Mr. Burns stated that I have a problem with the outside storage. He stated, I mean, I agree with your neighbor: It does affect their property value. He stated that it would be nice if you kept your equipment somewhere else. He stated that it does look like a construction yard. He stated that I do have a problem with that.

Mr. Stockman stated that my main problem right now is that I don’t have anywhere, I’m not a big business and I don’t have somewhere to keep it. He stated that that’s why I asked for the 5 years or whatever it was.

Mr. Detert stated, see, when we grant somebody privilege to run a business out of their home that’s really giving somebody who has a storefront, you’re getting an unfair advantage over that person and then to further have things lying around or outside in the neighborhood, it just seems like a little bit much, to me. He stated that it seems like maybe you’re at the point with that much equipment that you maybe ought to be thinking about getting a storefront.

Mr. Stockman stated, and that’s the thing right now is that we’re to the point now where I’m not big enough to be able to afford to get an office or what have you and that would be my hope some day but right now it’s not feasible for me. He stated that if I had somewhere else to keep it I would absolutely keep it somewhere else.

Mr. Robertson asked, how long have you been keeping things this way?

Mr. Stockman stated, I’ve lived there for 13 years and I’ve probably been in business for 10.

Mr. Robertson asked, have you had this type of storage for about that time?

Mr. Stockman stated, yes, and I’ve never had any problems with my neighbors or anything. He stated that I think if I did they would have been here tonight.

Mr. Detert stated that that’s to your credit that you haven’t alienated any of your neighbor.

Mr. Stockman stated that I don’t try to make a mess. He stated that I try to keep things picked up and everything.

Mr. Robertson stated, I wonder if we could maybe give it a couple of years.

Mr. Detert stated, that’s what I was thinking.

Mr. Robertson stated, and then if…


Mr. Detert stated that he could come back and let us know.

Mr. Robertson stated, maybe he’d be able to buy that other property or set something up.

Mr. Detert asked, would that be agreeable with you?

Mr. Burns stated that the only problem that I have is the adjacent property owner; it’s affecting his value. He stated that I don’t mind him operating a business there, but storing the equipment is the issue. He stated that storing the equipment, he could find a rental storage area – they’re not that expensive – an open rental yard. He stated that they’re in the area because I know other people are doing it. He stated that here you’re not talking only one trailer; you’re talking several trailers, a man-lift, another commercial trailer. He stated that it’s really almost a commercial business.

Mr. Stockman stated that that’s the one thing, the man-lift is… I don’t particularly try to keep it there.

Mr. Burns stated, but it’s there. He stated that I wouldn’t like it if it was my neighbor.

Mr. Stockman stated that I purposely didn’t take pictures of the surrounding property next to me, but if I were to take a picture of the lot from the lady who wrote the letter, the ones in Kentucky, there are probably 50 semi tires stacked around her lot, old tractors – there’s garbage everywhere and it’s been there since I moved there, it’s been there since I lived there. He stated, if anything, I’ve tried to pick up and clean things up.

Mr. Detert stated that two wrongs don’t make a right.

Mr. Stockman stated that I understand that but for her to say that I was decreasing her value, I just…

Mr. Detert stated that that’s something that our staff is going to look into and I would suggest right now that they look into that, but because they stored trailers there and got away with it doesn’t mean that you can store trailers and get away with it.

Mr. Burns asked, are you doing this full-time?

Mr. Stockman stated, yes.

Mr. Detert asked, what kind of gutters? He asked, do you put regular gutters up or this new type?

Mr. Stockman stated, residential gutters on houses is what 95 percent of our business is.

Mr. Detert asked, do you work for contractors?

Mr. Stockman stated, yes.

Mr. Detert asked, do you work strictly by phone, do they call you at your house?

Mr. Stockman stated that they’ll fax me orders and by phone, too. He stated that there is no meetings or anything like that at all.

Mr. Detert stated, I would not want you to use that as a place where your employees show up, and you said you do have one.

Mr. Stockman stated that I did have one and I stopped that.

Mr. Detert stated, because that adds to the clutter if there is somebody parking there.

Mr. Stockman stated that he lives a couple of blocks away and that was the reason, because he’s right there, but we’ve stopped that, too.

Mr. Robertson stated, I really would recommend that we do it for 2 years just to get out of this and see if it kind of resolves itself and in two years, if we don’t have any movement then we could deny it if we wanted to.

Mr. Burns asked, how many neighbors were contacted?

Mr. Stockman stated that 16 were sent and 14 received, two that didn’t’ for some reason.

Mr. Burns stated, like I said, I don’t have a problem with the business; I have a problem with the outside storage. He stated that it’s an eyesore in that area.

Mr. Stockman stated that my goal would be is if I’m able to purchase the lots next to me, I would not have a problem trying to get something up there next year. He stated that that wouldn’t bother me at all.

Mr. Burns stated that that’s not automatic that that would happen. He stated that then you are expanding your business in a residential area, so that’s not automatic that would happen. He stated that you have to get approval for that.

Mr. Stockman stated, okay, ‘cause that’s what I was listening to them saying, if I did move in that direction…

Mr. Burns stated, I think that’s what you heard from the Board, maybe it’s the time to move to a commercial…

Mr. Robertson stated that boards can change and members can change and you never know what’s going to happen when you come in.





Mr. Burns stated, you know, if it was one piece of equipment, one trailer, then that’s fine, but you’re talking a couple of trailers, a man-lift, a heavy-duty trailer..you’re expanding now, and that’s our concern.

Mr. Burns moved to approve Case 06-UV-1 for 2 years, subject to the petitioner to be looking for additional rental property or storage area. Mr. Detert seconded the motion.

Discussion:

Mr. Stockman asked, if I’m able to purchase the lots next to me, how do I go about then to put up some kind of a small barn? He asked, am I going to be back here to…

Mr. Burns stated that you’re going to have to ask for a business, you’re going to operate a business and a storage area.

Mr. Stockman asked, so I will actually come back to the Plan Commission?

Mr. Burns stated, yeah, because it’s a different piece of property.

Mr. Robertson stated, so he could come back in 2 years and ask it to be kind of amended to include your pole barn and ask for additional…

Mr. Stockman stated that I wouldn’t want to put it up and you guys say no.

Mr. Burns stated, Mr. Chairman, I think if he buys a different parcel that he has to come in and get that…it would be a new case.

Mr. Robertson stated that you would have to ask them permission before you build it.

Mr. Detert stated that you’d have to get a permit to put it up and you can put a notation on the record that if he comes in he needs to get permission to put that in…

Mr. Siminski stated, normally, Use Variances, once you’re awarded a Use Variance you’re not allowed, you’re not supposed to build anything, expand upon it, and that’s not what you’re doing here. He stated that you’re just asking Mr. Stockman to find maybe another solution, but if he does have a remedy for that he has to come back before the BZA to get approval.

Mr. Burns stated, so we’re clear, my solution to you is if you keep growing you need to move, at least your business.

Mr. Stockman stated, right.

Mr. Detert asked, how many people do you have working for you right now?

Mr. Stockman stated, 5 right now.

Mr. Detert stated, so, you’re getting pretty big.

Mr. Burns moved to approve Case 06-UV-1 for 2 years, subject to the petitioner to be looking for additional rental property or storage area; incorporating the findings of fact as prepared by the Board attorney. Mr. Detert seconded the motion, which carried on the following ballot vote:

Burns - Yes Detert - Yes Robertson - Yes

Case 06-SE-1. Petition of T.J.Z. Properties, LLC, 1587 S. Calumet Rd., Chesterton, seeking a Special Exception to permit operation of a contractor’s storage yard with outside storage for an excavation business, to be located on the West side of CR 400 E., between Murvihill Road and U.S. Hwy 30, in Washington Township.

Jim Zimmer, 935 N. 550 E., stated that he is the petitioner in this matter. He stated that I’m the owner of Apex Excavation. He stated that tonight I’m before you to ask for a Special Exception. He stated that we have some property that we purchased to build a new office and shop. He stated that I guess first I’d have to tell you where I am now. He stated that we’re in Westville with our shop and our office we rent in Chesterton, which makes for quite a tough time at times trying to communicate between the two, so that’s where we’re at right now. He stated that what we are intending to do, or would like to do, is to build a new office and shop on this property on 400 E. He stated that the only problem I have with this Board is that I have to have a Special Exception for my outside storage. He stated that I do have a pile of stone. He stated that I have some spare pipe pieces, concrete manhole, that kind of thing that we do keep onsite for jobs and for stocking trucks in the morning before they leave the shop. He stated, so, that’s what I’m asking for tonight. He stated that around me is I-2 property to the North along Murvihill, all along the airport, with several businesses there that have this same kind of use or outdoor storage use; I’m not saying they’re in our kind of business. He stated that the property to the South of us, on the other side of Route 30, is I-2, and this parcel that we’re on is I-1. He stated that I guess the other things I can tell you, my site will meet all the setback requirements for I-1. He stated that there is no residential district within 200 feet of our area. He stated that we have given you a site plan which is a little bit – I mean it may change slightly because we didn’t have the contours on, but at the time it was a heavily wooded piece of property, but obviously, once we get it cleared, and before we go for our actual building permit, we’ll have to submit a complete plan. He stated that our entrance will be on 400 E. and that is an all-weather road out to Route 30, and we do not advertise or have any signage, other than we may have a sign on the front of the building that says Apex on the brick, or whatever,



but that would be it. He stated that we do not do any retail sales directly from our…all’s we do is load the trucks and go to jobs. He stated that we build subdivisions and do residential construction, some small commercial work at different various sites throughout Porter County. He stated that I would have to think that, on the plus side, we have about 14 employees and a little less in the wintertime, obviously, due to seasonal work. He stated that right now we’re located in LaPorte, or have been, County. He stated that most of our people live in Porter County. He stated that these are good-paying, high-paying jobs bringing a good payroll with us. He stated that right now we’re paying personal property tax in LaPorte County, because that’s where our stuff is stored, which is a substantial amount also, and, also, we’re going to be providing a building that’s over $300,000 in value, so we’re making quite an investment in this and, hopefully, we’d like to have this done. He stated that we just had the soil scientist out and filed with the Indiana Department of Health for my septic permit just to make sure that it was viable out there. He stated that it’s all good sandy soils, so that was taken care of.

Tim Chesna, 550 E. 150 N., stated that I go by this property probably two, three times a day. He stated that you’ve got Chester’s to the East of it. He stated that they’ve got outside grain bins. He stated that they have outside storage there. He stated that they’ve got HP sales, they’ve got their outside tractors. He stated that I think whatever Jim Zimmer is doing is going to fit right in with the rest of the neighborhood there as far as the businesses that are there. He stated that a little bit of outside storage of stone and pipe fits right in with HP sales; they store used (inaudible), tractors. He stated that I think what he’s going to be doing is going to be a plus for the area.

James Volesko, 73 N. 400 E., stated that I’m directly across the street from this business. He stated that I am very much against it. He stated that you got a change in the grade of the soil that’s going to occur and when you get a lot of rain in that area, even though it was real high right up next to 400 E. sometimes it will wash down and run right into my yard, and from the looks of it they’re going to have to grade that to make an entry and that’s going to cause a lot of rain to run off and down into my yard all the time now, and then you’ve got the eyesore that will be created. He stated that he already told you that he’s going to have pipes and all kinds of stuff laying around out there. He stated that the entry, I believe, will be right across the street from where my yard is, and I’ll be looking at this every day of my life. He stated, noise levels at all hours of the day and night…I don’t know what’s going to occur, so, I’m against it.

Thomas Glissman, 5608 Murvihill Road, stated that my property will be directly against Mr. Zimmer’s property. He stated that I’m not quite sure how I marked my form there. He stated that I’m kind of in between. He stated that I’m not really against it. He stated that I softened my heart towards his business seeing as how that’s what I’ve done all my life, so really, I don’t have any complaints as long



as he does a nice job, puts in a nice building, keeps a nice, neat yard and he said he would do that and, so, I vote in favor of him, I guess.

Jeff Woods, 406 E. 75 N., stated that as far as the roads go out there, the all-weather road is from U.S. 30 to Chester’s area there. He stated that from there to Murvihill is not an all-weather road. He stated that Chester’s dug that down 3 feet and built that up because of the trucks and stuff they bring in with their own fertilizer. He stated that there is the traffic that they are going to create and we get affected by the water flow coming down 75 down to my property, also. He stated that the other thing would be it would be pushing Valpo to annex into our area more when they haven’t annexed all of Center Township yet, which I’m against.

Bob Cook, 88 Kaper Lane, stated that I basically came here to be nosy. He stated that I didn’t know what was going on. He stated that I didn’t really sign for or against, either. He stated that I guess my only concern would be watershed. He stated that I do see drawn you got a detention pond. He stated that I got a question: What would be the difference between detention and retention?

Chuck Glissman, 84 N. 400 E., stated that I talked to Jim out there. He stated that Jim was right: The water does run down there in that corner and you might want to grade it or something, but, other than that, I really had no problem with anything. He stated that you’ll have to put a ditch in when you put your road in, or whatever.

Mr. Zimmer stated that we have a natural screening, to some degree, of a tree line that would be on my North border between my property and Mr. (inaudible) property, and also, on the East side, there are some trees along the line between Chuck’s property, or his dad’s, and ours and we’re going to enhance that with more plantings. He stated that I’d like to buffer that out. He stated that we’re going to provide…we run daytime hours, I mean, it’s 6:30 in the morning to 4:30 in the afternoon. He stated that on the rare occasion we might get called out at night, but that happens once every two, three years, so, it’s pretty much normal working hours. He stated that as far as the water in our pond, it’s going to be a retention-type pond that will hold our own storm water and dissipate through the bottom of that pond through the sand, so we’re not going to be releasing off the property, which, actually, out there right now with as sandy as it is, I’m sure there is areas like they said, and I do agree, that along 400 that would have to be obviously when we put our driveway in, or whatever, we’ll make arrangements or whatever for holding that water and releasing it into the ditch at a rate…I mean, our engineer will take care of that as far as design, so I think I can make sure that that happens. He stated, I mean, that is our business. He stated that other than that, I don’t think that we’ll be much of a nuisance to anybody really. He stated, I mean, we’re going to have a fenced-in yard, we’re going to have a security light on the outside of our building, like anybody else would, but other than that, we don’t



have any customer traffic, basically. He stated that we have an occasional salesman that comes by or occasionally someone will drop off a blueprint, but other than that, we don’t have day to day sales or anything, so our traffic will be minimal. He stated that as far as I know from what I’ve talked to Jim Vaughn at the County Highway Department, 400 E. is an all-weather road all the way to Murvihill, and that was granted because, I mean, they’ve got Schwan’s and Surtec and both I-2 businesses without outside storage. He stated that that’s what he told me and I believe that he also told somebody on this board that he told me somebody else had already checked on that. He stated that I did take some pictures of the surrounding area just to give you an idea. He stated that there are a few businesses that face Route 30 that back up to this parcel. He stated that that’s a car dealer and on the corner is the Case tractor dealer and these are cars behind this that he stores out there and some trucks. He stated that this is North off of Murvihill, which is Surtec’s. He stated that these are the Schwan’s trucks and this is looking from my property North, actually, a little bit off of my property from looking at Mr. Glissman’s pond.

Mr. Burns asked, where’s your property from here? He asked, next to John Deere?

Mr. Zimmer stated that I back right up to the back fence. He stated that these are right down the street. He stated that that backs up to my property, too.

Mr. Robertson asked, would any of you like to come take a look at these pictures? He stated that you’re welcome to come on up here. He stated, okay, this is what’s already here, okay.

The public hearing was then closed.

Mr. Detert stated that I guess the only problem I have is that contractor’s yards can get messy looking and if we’re going to approve this I would demand that considerable screening be done to hide it from view. He stated that I just don’t want another unsightly mess in the County.

Mr. Burns stated, basically, I don’t have a problem. He stated that it is zoned I-1, so it is a mixed use out there. He stated that I felt the same way – screening, especially front yard. He stated that you have a neighbor right across the street, so screening, greenery. He stated, also, the drainage. He stated that several people mentioned the drainage. He stated that if you could sit down with the Technical Advisory board, I think we may want to do that.

Mr. Detert stated that he will have to do that before…he has to get his site plan okayed.

Mr. Burns stated, I just wanted to make sure that’s in the minutes, of course, with the comments from the neighbors. He stated, also, the noise level. He asked, do you repair machines there?

Mr. Zimmer stated, inside, yes.

Mr. Burns asked, all repairs will be done inside?

Mr. Zimmer stated, yes.

Mr. Burns stated, okay. He stated, hours of operation – 6:30 to 4:30, you mentioned.

Mr. Zimmer stated, that’s pretty general.

Mr. Burns stated, unless there’s an emergency?

Mr. Zimmer stated, every day we’re there about 6:30 in the morning and we’re always usually in by 4:30, unless we’re real busy. He stated that we don’t really do much there, other than show up, take the trucks and go to a job site. He stated that we’re not there all day until we get back.

Mr. Detert stated that starting up vehicles early in the morning can disturb neighbors if they sleep in or if they’re retired, like me.

Mr. Zimmer stated that that’s why I looked for an industrially zoned piece of property. He stated, I mean, the bottom line is that I didn’t try to do this in a residential area out of my driveway or whatever at home, so, that’s what we’re all shopping for, is, I mean, there’s a lot of people in our situation trying to find a place to put your building up and your shop, or whatever.

Mr. Burns asked, will you commit to screening?

Mr. Zimmer stated, I don’t really know what, as far as…I really believe that our front yard really doesn’t face anybody. He stated that that’s one reason why we put the building where we did. He stated that we didn’t really put it on 400 E. so that it would be in plain view. He stated that we’re back off and around the corner, really, behind Mr. Glissman’s property, so, you really don’t see us much from 400. He stated that from any road you won’t see the front of the building.

Mr. Burns stated that you’re right across the street from I can’t remember which neighbor it was.

Mr. Zimmer stated, but, the actual location of the building on the site…

Mr. Robertson asked, what about the outside storage?

Mr. Zimmer stated that that all is going to be back between these two tree lines and I’ll commit…I don’t know what you’re asking for, but, I don’t have a problem with putting evergreens or shrubs or whatever.




Mr. Burns stated, and that’s really where I’m heading…and it also helps absorb some of the noise, too.

Mr. Robertson stated, right along 400, if you could do a line…

Mr. Zimmer stated, well, we’re over 350, 400 feet off the road.

Mr. Robertson stated, any way you grow, if you grow out toward 400, if you already have the trees in place…

Mr. Zimmer stated that I don’t have a problem with screening it…I don’t want to hide my building completely. He stated that, I mean, that is a tractor dealership in front of me that starts their tractors every day, also. He stated that Chester’s ran their business with semis running in and out of their yard 24 hours a day, so, I mean, it’s not like I’m the only person in Washington Township that’s going to start their motors up at 6:30 in the morning.

Mr. Burns stated that a couple residents are shaking their heads. He stated that I’d like to call on them just for a minute. He stated, you’re shaking your heads. He asked, do you want to make a comment?

Mr. Valesko stated that we’ve never ever heard any equipment started up at any weird hours of the day, and even when they do start up, we don’t hear it because they’re far away. He stated that this will be directly across the street. He stated, I mean, I could look out my front door and see this.

Mr. Robertson asked, how far away from Mr. Valesko is your building going to be?

Mr. Zimmer stated that from the front of the property on 400 the building sits back 300 feet or more.

Mr. Burns stated that my big concern is the outside storage and equipment close to the neighbors and that’s why that screening is really important, if we approve this.

Mr. Detert stated that we could do a couple things here. He stated that we could make him come back with a screening plan, or we could leave it to staff. He stated that I think staff understands what we want. He stated that we want the business hidden from anybody’s view and he could work with staff to work out a screening plan.

Mr. Burns stated that I would like to see him come back here. He stated that we got a couple neighbors concerned. He stated that I think it’s the right spot for the business, to be honest with you. He stated that it’s a mixed use; it’s I-1 zoning, but I’m concerned about the neighbors.

Mr. Burns asked, how would it affect your time frame?




Mr. Zimmer stated that we’re at full-go mode, as far as trying to get this started so that we can get moved in, obviously, as quick as possible. He stated that we’ve applied for some of this stuff on the state level to try to expedite the whole process, full-well knowing that I’ve got to come back and go through full site plan review to even get close to getting a building permit.

Mr. Detert stated, I guess to clarify one point – you said you weren’t going drain on anybody, but you’re going to have a retention pond, right?

Mr. Zimmer stated, yes.

Mr. Detert stated, and a retention pond has an overflow tube. He stated, no, wait – detention. He stated, I’m sorry.

Mr. Burns stated that my concern, again, is the fencing for visibility purposes and for noise. He stated, I mean, I’m talking like a wall of greenery, 15 feet high or whatever it may be. He stated that I know it’s going to be an expense. He stated that this is the back side. He stated that this is the storage area.

Mr. Zimmer stated that would face to the North. He stated that I don’t have a problem with it. He stated that it’s already completely tree-lined, putting the bushes in underneath it to dense it up won’t be bad at all.

At this time, Mr. Siminski read the Inspection Committee Report. The report is in the file. He stated that I would like to ask one question. He stated, on the Glissman property, is that a business being run off of that property or something?

Philip Glissman stated, no.

Mr. Siminski stated, I really wasn’t sure. He stated that I did talk to your grandson though. He stated that he kind of explained the situation.

Mr. Detert stated, relative to the lighting problem, you say you’re going to have lights up?

Mr. Zimmer stated that I will have some kind of security dusk-to-dawn light on the building.

Mr. Detert stated that one of the problems we have with that on commercial structures is that they tend to bother some people, but I think in your remote location, I don’t think they’ll bother anybody, but be sure and look at that.

Mr. Burns stated, they have the new lights that shine down.




Mr. Zimmer stated that this is basically a blueprint of the building. He stated that this will be the office front with a brick face on it.

Mr. Robertson asked, Rick, where would you want the screening to go?

Mr. Burns stated, mainly to the East where the residents are.

Mr. Robertson asked, how far back from 400 E. are you talking? He asked, right along the road there?

Mr. Burns stated, yeah. He stated that there are some trees there now, if he could put greenery or pine trees.

Mr. Robertson stated, he wants to be able to see his building.

Philip Glissman stated that I have an old barn right next to his property and I only have 10 foot on that side and I would like to have a little more.

Mr. Robertson stated that you can work that out with him afterwards. He stated that we’re hung up on the screening.

Mr. Burns stated that I think we’re at a point where we should see a screening plan. He stated that I don’t have a problem with the business. He stated that there is business use out there. He stated that I think it’s a good location for it, but there are still residents there and I think we should see a screening plan. He stated that I think there’s a comment in there of how the pond, the location of the drainage pond.

Mr. Zimmer stated that it strictly was conceptual at the point when I drew up that little plan.

Mr. Burns stated that I think we need to get that straightened out because we do have some testimony from three different neighbors out there that there is a drainage issue and we should make sure that’s taken care of.

Mr. Burns moved to continue Case 06-SE-1 to the 2-15-06 BZA meeting, with the petitioner to bring in a screening plan and to address the drainage issues. Mr. Detert seconded the motion, which carried on a 3-0 voice vote.

Case 05-SE-8. Petition of Kankakee Valley REMC, c/o Brian J. Hurley, 14 Indiana Ave., Valparaiso, seeking a Special Exception to permit a utility substation, to be located at the Southeast corner of CR 150 S. and CR 100 W., in Morgan Township. (This Case was continued from the 12-21-05 meeting, with the public hearing open.)





Attorney Brian Hurley stated that he and Scott Sears, system engineer for Kankakee Valley REMC are representing the petitioner in this matter. He stated that this evening we’re here on our petition for a Special Exception to allow a sub-station to be located at 150 S. 100 W. in Morgan Township. He stated that if I could I’d like to take a moment to hand out pictures first of all of what the substation will, ultimately, look like. He stated that as you go through these pictures you’ll see on page 1, this is actually the picture of the Kouts substation which this Board approved for us back about two years ago. He stated that first of all just to let me preliminarily address the idea of a substation, it improves the quality, it provides better load for the customers throughout the system. He stated that as a public utility Kankakee Valley REMC is required to provide sufficient electricity and sufficient load to its customers and what the substation does is allow us to provide better service for consistent and continued service to all our customers. He stated that as this Board knows probably better than any other board, there is now, has been and will continue to be a lot of growth, particularly in this area, so we are wanting to locate the substation at this point. He stated that we have a contract to purchase the real estate from the owner. He stated that as I mentioned these are pictures of the substation down in Kouts, which is the most recently built one. He stated that I’m advised by Mr. Sears that this, in fact, is what the new substation will look like, almost exactly. He stated that the first picture, you can see, I just want to point out there is obviously there is a lot of electrical equipment, a lot of transformers, and, of course, a lot of lines coming in. He stated that you’ll also notice an 8-foot wire fence with one foot of barbed wire above that obviously for security purposes. He stated that the next picture is just another view of the same thing. He stated that the third picture I want to point out to you. He stated that this is the gravel as it is spread throughout the facility, obviously for safety purposes, as well as to provide for driving in and out. He stated that this is a substation. He stated that we do need to be able to inspect it once a month and, from time to time, make repairs. He stated, so, it’s necessary to be able to have a traffic pattern through the substation for our trucks in order to maintain as well as inspect the facility. He stated that the next picture, I’m now moving to the picture where you see the REMC truck. He stated that that is the site which we are talking about this evening. He stated that that’s 150 S. 100 W. and this picture is oriented to looking North, so that is 100 W. along the left side where the stop sign is and the truck is the East-West road, 150 S., which is where we propose to put the entrance and exit in a horseshoe fashion, to and from the subdivision. He stated that if you turn to the next page you’ll note, of course, that this is basically a cornfield. He stated that you’ll note that this is oriented toward the East and, again, there really are no houses in this area to speak of, albeit for a farm across the street, which we have a picture of that we’re getting to. He stated that on the next page – it’s a little dark, kind of hard to see – but it’s to the South. He stated, again, on what appears to be going along the right side of the viewer’s orientation is 100 W. and the



next picture we’re looking Westward across the street, across 100 W. towards the farm. He stated that I’m going to hand you a picture of very similar and in my package it shows cows outside on that particular farm and, to the Northeast, this is the last picture, this is to the Northeast, this is the farm that’s across the street from this subdivision, down the road from where we propose to put this particular substation and then the final schematic drawing is this one. He state that it’s concentric circles and the concentric circles put as their target this area, 100 W. 150 S. (sic), and this is really an engineering drawing of our facilities in this particular area, but what I’d like to point out to you is that there really are no…other than the one across the street, there really are no…very few homes. He stated that there’s only about what, three?

Mr. Sears stated, 3 homes in a half-mile radius.

Mr. Hurley stated, 3 homes in a half-mile radius. He stated, now, in Porter County, it’s very difficult to find any place in the entire County that is populated to that extent, so we have chosen a site which has limited density, as limited as possible, and still allow us to provide what we need to provide as part of our commitment to our members to provide them with sufficient electricity. He stated that now I’m going to hand you another packet of information. He stated that this begins with the page of the proposed findings of fact. He stated that the next page is our development plan that we are required to provide you, under the ordinance. He stated that the next page is a survey of this particular land that shows the portion of this that we are going to purchase. He stated that it shows the setbacks and then there are three photos not quite of the quality of Mr. Sears’ photographic ability, but the first picture actually shows again 100 S. (sic) is the road that is disappearing off into the horizon and then the person taking this photograph – myself, actually – I’m standing on 150 S., so I’m facing in a southerly direction along 100 W. (sic). He stated that the next picture is facing again Eastward. He stated that you can see there’s an REMC pole, there’s a utility easement North and South along 100 W. and then the final picture is looking in a Westerly fashion. He stated that the stop sign you see in the very, very right-hand margin, that is the stop sign that is on 150 S. and it requires you to stop for cross-traffic on 100 W. He stated that under your ordinance a Special Exception is required for a public utility substation and that’s what we’re here for, and the requirement is really quite simple. He stated that we are required to provide you with a development plan, which we have, and we are also required to restrict parking to not be in the front yard. He stated that there will actually be no parking at this particular facility. He stated that there is no need to park. He stated that the fencing is there for security to keep people out and to keep the facility secure. He stated, again, as I’ve indicated, we inspect these once a month. He stated that in terms of the site plan, the colored site plan, we actually took this footprint from the information we provided to you when we were here before you for the Kouts substation. He stated, as I indicated earlier, we’re going to



build one that’s almost identical and you can see the road that fronts off of 150 S., you can see the access point. He stated that the reason that we made it in a horseshoe fashion is that as we enter we want to be able to go all the way around the perimeter and interior of the actual substation mechanical equipment and be able to do that without turning around and that’s why it’s designed the way it is. He stated that entrance and exit, as we indicated, will be off of 150 S. He stated that this is a particular district – I just want to point out that we service – that goes all the way from Lakes of the Four Seasons and includes Aberdeen, includes (inaudible) Morgan Township, goes almost to 49 and beyond. He stated that it is the most populated district that we have in our service area and, of course, is, as you know, growing. He stated that the need for the substation is clear and I’m going to actually sit down for a moment and let Mr. Sears address you as the engineer and talk a little bit more about the need for the substation.

Mr. Sears stated that what I’d like to talk to you about is why did we pick this site? He stated that the questions that come up, why here and why not somewhere else? He stated that as Brian alluded to, there is a lot of development in this area and where there is houses they need electricity. He stated that we balanced a point between where are there houses and yet that it’s out away from people where it’s not going to be visible along a major thoroughfare. He stated, obviously, we’d like to have it up someplace near SR 2 and Division Road where Aberdeen is, but that’s not a very nice looking place to put one. He stated that the drawing that I put together over here is an illustration of some of our other substations that serve Porter County. He stated that out by Lakes of the Four Seasons area we have two, Mack substation and Porter substation. He stated that several years ago we were before you and we built a Kouts substation. He stated that up near Chesterton we have our Westfall substation and back about ’95 we were before you when we built Washington substation. He stated that we have interconnections between all these substations. He stated that currently the area that we are talking about, the last of the pictures we were talking about, the last page shows lines in that area, shows where our customers are. He stated that every one of those black dots in there is a customer. He stated that there are also some (inaudible) in there that tell you where all the subdivisions are. He stated that that area right now is being serviced by our Mack substation. He stated that that Mack substation this past July, when we got really warm, was operating at 93 percent of its capacity. He stated that the other parts of the area that the proposed substation is fed by comes from metering points, and, what metering points are, we get power directly from NIPSCO from their distribution system, not the transmission system. He stated that the transmission system is much more reliable than the distribution system. He stated that we get power from them just like any of their customers do, just along the highways. He stated that we have no regulator control, no reclosure control, we don’t have any say on the maintenance. He stated that we are totally at their mercy. He stated that if I can point out for you that the Post-Tribune ran an article about them talking about how their summer outages were not acceptable,



and NISPCO goes on to tell you that for this past summer that their outages were over 4 hours. He stated, on an average, per customer, suffered through a 4-hour total outage time just in the summertime alone. He stated that to us that’s unacceptable. He stated that our numbers for this 2005 past year our average customer, for the entire year, had a 3 hour and 8 minute interruption. He stated that we look to do better than that and we hope that this substation will help us do that. He stated that we do get power from NIPSCO, as I mentioned, through these metering points. He stated that we suffer from them because of their interruptions. He stated that this past 2005 we experienced one hour 45 minutes to each of our members because of their interruptions, because of their lack of maintenance and their (inaudible) to supply. He stated that when we talk about supply again, there was an article again, if I could reference the Post-Tribune, where the IURC has been given a report that was done by the state (inaudible) forecasting group out of Purdue University and they talked about the fact that over the next 5 years demand for electricity is going to increase 11 percent. He stated that in order for us to meet this we are going to have to build additional substations, otherwise, when these houses are built, we can’t supply them with electricity, we can’t provide them with reliable service that the citizens and our members demand.

Mr. Hurley stated, I just want to conclude by pointing out a couple things. He stated that Kankakee Valley REMC is not AG&T, in other words, it’s not a generating utility. He stated that we don’t have any generation capacity. He stated that we simply buy power on the open market. He stated that we are a transmitting utility, which means that it’s our job to transmit, it’s our job to get the power from the utility generator to each and every customer. He stated that we are also not owned by investors, we’re not owned by share-holders; we’re a cooperative, we’re cooperatively organized, which means that each member pays according to the amount of electricity that they buy and we sell it to them based upon our cost, as opposed to providing any dividends for share-holders or profits. He stated that we’re a non-profit organized under the REMC act in the state of Indiana. He stated that we are happy to answer any other questions that you might have.

No one spoke in favor of this petition.

Philip Kellar, 119 S. 200 W., stated that if you’ll notice, on the sign-in sheet I put question marks. He stated I’m both for and against. He stated that I’m really not here for or against. He stated that I’m here for information. He stated that I think there’s some error because I can see that area from my home. He stated that there are more than three homes in that area because you didn’t count me. He stated that I would like to see these photos of what the substation will look like, how large will it be. He stated that the other thing that was not addressed is what health hazards are we going to be faced with out there? He stated that these generating stations,



these high wires, produce some electrical magnetic fields that do create health hazards. He stated that if this is going to present a health hazard to me, I’m against it. He stated that if it appears somewhat grotesque I would like to see this thing fenced in. He stated that it looks like any big city. He stated that I moved out to this area a year and a half ago not to be in the city; now I’m back in the city. He stated, believe it or not, I’m kitty-corner from this proposed site, and you know who my utility has to be? He stated that it’s NIPSCO. He asked, why can’t I use these folks? He stated that I was told I couldn’t use them, and I’m kitty-corner from them. He stated that although this engineering is a great picture and for engineers it’s beautiful, for residents it’s ugly. He stated that it’s pipes, it’s wires, it’s metal, it’s steel. He stated, to tell you the truth, I don’t like it. He stated that I really would like to see or find out what the true health risks are. He asked, how large is this?

Brad Cavanaugh, 1207 Cross Creek Rd., stated that my father owns the 100 acres which is across the street on 150 S. 100 W., on the Southwest corner, which is basically the farmland, the lovely cows that they had shot. He stated that I also am against this. He stated that my father also is against this. He stated that his five children look to inherit that 100 acres eventually, which will be used to build homes for our families. He stated that I’ve looked forward to moving out there ever since I was a kid. He stated that he’s had this property for over 30 years and I’ve been going out there since I was a child, so I’ve been looking forward my whole life to moving out there. He stated that there is definitely more than three homes within that area. He stated that this is actually one of the most picturesque views in Porter County which overlooks a valley which runs right into downtown Valpo. He stated that from our property, on top of the hill, which looks down over this steel and wire prison that they are going to be putting up. He stated that I can see this building. He stated that I can see the courthouse, I can see the old prison. He stated that we’re over 5 miles away from downtown and, as I say, it’s one of the most beautiful sights to look at, but now, with this going up, that basically our property, along with a lot of the neighbors that have built brand-new homes – there’s one currently being built that will overlook the site where they’re planning to build. He stated that I don’t know what our options are as far as just the humble home-owner of keeping this thing out, but if it does go through, what are their plans to cover up all this steel, and, as they say, barbed wire fences and all that, transformers and trucks. He stated that nobody wants to look at that day in and day out. He stated that I know they spent a lot of money on their engineering, but Porter County has put through their 30 percent (sic) greenspaces and everything being done to keep things looking decent for the people that would have to live next to this.

Tom Cavanaugh, 2204 Windwood Dr., Valparaiso, stated that I’ve had this property for about 40 years. He stated that what I would like to do before the next meeting – I don’t know what the procedure is for this – our business is aerial photography and photography. He



stated that I would like to take a photograph of one of their substations. He stated that I would like to superimpose it on this property and I’ll give you a view – the before and after – of what that’s going to look like from our property. He stated that we sit up real high. He stated that we look out over there and this was our whole plan, to build four homes across this ridge to look down. He stated that now we’re going to be looking down on a substation and I’m truly against it. He stated that I would like the opportunity to show you a before and after and show you just exactly what this is going to look like, and we can do that simply – that’s our business.

Mr. Robertson stated, I appreciate that, Mr. Cavanaugh, but this is the meeting. He stated that unless it’s continued this would be the meeting where the decision would be made, unless it’s continued.

Mr. Cavanaugh asked, is this the first time we’ve heard about this though?

Mr. Robertson stated, well, this is the way meetings go. He stated that you have a public hearing where you are allowed to speak and this is where we make a decision.

Tom Cavanaugh stated that I didn’t know what the procedure was from this point on.

Mr. Robertson stated that if we had multiple hearings for everything we’d never get anything done.

Tom Cavanaugh stated, anyway, there are more homes closer to this. He stated that when they said three homes, they’re wrong. He stated that there’s no doubt that there’s a lot more homes around there and a lot more are going to be around there, but you’re taking, for us, a particularly fantastic view and just ruining it. He stated that this thing is sitting out in a valley and it’s like a sore thumb sticking right up. He stated that I don’t know if you’ve been out there, I don’t know if you know exactly what this looks like, but this, they said, is there’s nothing else around, but that’s what makes it so nice, but it’s going to sit up like a sore thumb in this valley.

Carlotta Paul, 178 S. 100 W., stated that I, too, would like to take a look at the pictures, and, particularly, my home should be right across the street on 100 W. She stated that I’m less than a city block from that corner. She stated that I have a two-story home and I have over a 45-acre farm that I crop to keep the beauty of the area. She stated that I haven’t sold any of the land off because I plan to give – I have a 14- and a 17-year-old -- and I plan to leave that in the family, so, this, I’m just asking questions because I don’t know a lot about this, but does the Board know, if something like this goes in that close to my home, do you know if it causes any decrease in my property value, does anybody know? She asked, it might do that? She stated that I was just wondering about the same thing



that Mr. Kellar, I believe your name was?, was there any environmental issues for the Board to consider for myself and my kids? She stated that if it has to be checked once a month, I’m just wondering what are they checking? She asked, is there anything that affects, you know, the land, the crops out there, water, and what about the traffic issues? She asked, how many trucks would be coming out there, because it’s a small County road. She stated that it’s not a very durable road. She stated that it is actually even gravel with oil on it is how they make the roads out there, so I just didn’t know what the road system would be worth. She stated that it has no shoulders and it’s not a very wide road. She stated that it doesn’t even seem suitable for trucks to be on on a maintenance basis. She stated that I was wondering, were there other areas besides this that they could consider? She asked, do they have a list of places that they looked at before this is a final request, have they looked anywhere else? She asked, and, can transformers be put in instead of substations. She stated that I’m just wondering because when I moved out there before in ’97 I had made an REMC inquiry and they told me that transformers would be in place in the future, so, I’m just wondering, are there other alternatives that the Board could consider that they submit – transformers versus substations, okay? She stated, and then, what is the dimension? She stated that I see the picture and I know the corner involved, but how many feet is it? She asked, is it 150 feet by 300 feet? She asked, what would it be? She stated, and if it is placed in there, later on, as years go on, can any other items go near it, for example, if I have two vacant lots across the street from that am I going to be able to say no to home if I wanted to, if the land’s passable and everything? She asked, are there zoning restrictions that would affect my vacant land right across the street?

Mr. Detert stated, there’s a layout showing the sizes.

Ms. Paul stated, okay, 180 feet, 250 deep from the corner, so it looks like it might be a little bit over an acre of land? She stated, and it has a fence around it, I see, and I think that’s all I can come up with on the spur of the moment.

Fred Paul, 403 N. Locust, Valparaiso, stated that the valley that they’re talking about is moraine valley (sic). He stated that the land that they’re talking about that he has, Del Graeber, has across the street, is the highest point of land in Porter County. He stated that you can see the city from where he’s talking about. He stated that here is copies, here is a picture, I can draw that land, that’s her house, this is his land, that gentleman that stood up. He stated that this is the high point where they built a new home here.

Mr. Robertson asked, where’s the point where the substation goes on this picture?

Mr. Paul stated, right here, and this and Del Graeber’s land, they do have the highest point land in Porter County. He stated that if they bush it or however you come up with whatever agreements, but I



know what he’s talking about. He stated that that’s probably the most valuable piece of land out there that these people own. He stated that with that kind of height. He stated that I just thought I’d show the homes that are there. He stated that there’s one being built that isn’t on there, but I just wanted to show you that one layout.

Scott Shriver, 159 W. 200 S., stated that I just have some questions. He asked, what’s the primary voltage of the substation and where are the line or lines going to be routed coming in. He asked, is it existing lines or new lines? He asked, what kind of expansion plans might be planned for this station?

Loren Paul, 178 S. 100 W., stated, I was just wondering, if this does go in, is there a chance they could possibly plant trees around it or something to kind of hide it?

Mr. Hurley stated, if I could, let me first respond to the technical questions. He asked, Mr. Sears, Scott, what is the primary voltage that’s going to be going in there?

Mr. Sears state that the proposal right now is 69,000 volt transmission line to serve it, and the outgoing lines are 12,500, which is what the existing lines are in the area. He stated that we have existing facilities, electric lines, along both 150 S. and 100 W. county roads.

Mr. Hurley stated, so, if I understand the scheme of things correctly, the 69,000 volt lines come into the substation and they are stepped down in voltage through the series of basically transformers?

Mr. Sears stated, correct.

Mr. Hurley stated, and they are stepped down to the 12,500, which is then sent out to the local customers on poles that we already have in the area. He stated that those 12,500 lines go to a transformer and then have a service drop, and the service drop provides the typical household current.

Mr. Sears stated that that’s correct.

Mr. Hurley stated, after it hits another transformer?

Mr. Sears stated that the transformer that typically sits in people’s front yards or up on a pole is what provides the 120 volts that we all use in our houses.

Mr. Hurley asked, the line coming in is going to be built or constructed, or that is already pretty close?

Mr. Sears stated that the transmission line would have to be extended to a station that distribution is already existing.



Mr. Hurley stated that he also pointed out on one of these pictures, there’s very high tower lines, you can actually see that when you’re looking to the South. He asked, is that the NIPSCO tower?

Mr. Sears stated, when we started looking at the site pictures, the third picture in, if you look to the South there, you can see two sets of towers that dot the landscape. He stated that they must be sitting 500 feet high or something because you can see them; they’re about a mile away. He stated that that’s NIPSCO’s…I believe they’re 138,000 or 345,000 volt lines that come directly from their Schaffer generating station and go right through the middle of Aberdeen subdivision, on up to Tower sub to serve the Valpo area.

Mr. Hurley stated that a couple people questioned our indication and if there was a misunderstanding I’m sorry. He stated that we didn’t indicate that there were only three homes within a three-quarter mile area. He stated that there were three homes within a half a mile.

Mr. Sears stated that if you go from the intersection and you draw a half-mile arc you only hit three houses. He stated that the first gentleman that spoke lives on CR 200 W., which is a mile West of where we’re talking about, and I think his address was 119 S., which would be probably then another quarter-mile or so to the North from 150 S., so he was not in that first exclusionary area that I was speaking of, that half-mile radius.

Mr. Hurley stated that as far as health hazards are concerned, as we’ve already indicated there are a number of substations already on our system. He stated that we have never had a claim by anyone on any kind of problem or health hazard whatsoever. He stated that we have never had a claim for any safety…anybody who has gotten inside and gotten injured as a result. He stated that we have never had a claim for any property damage that could be traced back to any of the substations. He stated that these are the things that are part of growth. He stated that we don’t like cell towers, but we like to use cell phones; some of us have to use a cell phone. He stated that we don’t like a large number of homes, but yet people are moving here and they’re paying taxes. He stated that we don’t like a lot of cars, but when people move here they bring their cars with them. He stated that substations are a fact of life. He stated that there’s no way to provide the electricity that we use every day, and unlike a cell tower – let me point out – these are really…electricity, everybody uses electricity, whereas some people use cell phones, some don’t, or a particular tower may serve only certain types of cell phones. He stated that the electrical subdivision (sic) serves everyone, and while there are homes in this area that we talked about, there is also, obviously, farms and farms are businesses, they’re agricultural businesses that need to have electricity, so, what we’re in is the electrical business and what our charge is is to supply that to our consumers, to our members, efficiently and also reliably, and it is based upon our study that this subdivision (sic) is needed. He stated



that let me go through a few more of the questions. He stated that I’m sorry, but I was out there at the site and I didn’t really see any valley, so…it’s difficult for me to address that. He stated that the height that we look up to when we look to the West, you know, there’s a rolling hill there and this substation may, in fact, be visible, just like the high power lines are visible and just like the cornfield is visible. He stated that there is very little that we can do about that, other than site this subdivision (sic) in an area that has very limited density, and that is what we’ve done. He stated that we’ve taken a long look at this and we have decided to put it an area, that while it is efficient enough for us to put it there in order to do its job, it is far enough away from densely populated area. He stated that as far as trucks and would there be any semis that would go to this site.

Mr. Sears stated that during the construction of it we would have several semis bring material in, but as far as trucks, the fellow that does our monthly inspections, he drives a three-quarter ton pickup truck. He stated that he comes in once a month. He stated that as far as bigger trucks, the same trucks that would come to service this station are the same ones that we use to service the lines, so the question about would the roads support our trucks, we drive them (sic) trucks already on these roads and have not had any issues.

Mr. Hurley stated that everywhere there is a utility pole that says REMC on it, or NIPSCO, for that matter, they have a road that is sufficient to carry them. He stated that I personally live near a substation. He stated that I live in town on Boca Laga and NIPSCO had a substation right near there and, again, it was located in an area where there were roads coming together so that it could be accessed. He stated, again, they’re a fact of life. He stated that they’re something that we need to have in this particular area as Scott pointed out before, the one substation got to 93 percent capacity over the summer. He stated that although normally in business you like to be at 100 percent, but not in the electric business you don’t. he stated that once you get to 100 percent you’re tapped out. He stated that that’s when you start having brownouts, that’s when you start having blinking lights, that’s when you start having outages. He stated that what we’ve done is we have chosen a site that is in an area that is agricultural. He stated that we are here today, tonight, to get a Special Exception. He stated that we believe that we fit the requirements of the ordinance. He stated that we believe that as far as the values of the property are concerned, again, a substation has to be in an area and if you’re going to develop property, if there is going to be development, I see a little bit of tension in this, because we want to have land so that we can sell it so that we can develop it, but we don’t want to have to put up with a substation. He stated that I would suggest to you that there’s got to be a balance. He stated that we’ve got to be able to provide electricity to these customers. He stated that we have to have these substations somewhere. He stated that the area of the site was questioned. He stated that it is basically almost a square. He stated that it’s a rectangle. He



stated that it is 250 by 180 and it is measured directly from the corner of 150 S. and 100 W. He stated that we intend to use…and there is going to be a fence around it, as we’ve indicated in the pictures, we’re required to have a fence around it. He stated that we need to have a fence around it in order to make sure that there isn’t sabotage, and, by the same token, to make sure that it’s safe and secure for anybody that would be in and around the area. He stated that the fence line is superimposed on the drawing. He stated that it’s basically…there is a side yard…there is a front yard of 80 feet from 150 S. He stated that there is a side yard of 60 feet from 100 W., so we have designed it so that it is set back from the corner as far as we can while still maintaining a 20-foot setback to the East and a 20-foot setback to the South. He stated that again that’s from the fence line. He stated that I hope that I’ve answered as many questions as I could. He stated that we appreciate the concerns. He stated that as I’ve indicated, we’ve never had a claim from anyone who has been injured or has had property damage as a result of where we’ve located these substations in the past. He stated that with that, I’m going to conclude my comments and answer any other questions that we can.

Mr. Kellar stated that you may not have had a claim; that does not negate the possibility of health risk. He stated that I personally can show you two parcels, two homes, one listed for $850,000; another home, $1.3 million, where a high-tension wire near these properties has prevented the sale of both of these homes. He stated that this is over a period of six years. He stated that it is proven fact that these electrical magnetic fields can, over a period of time, create or be indicated in a brain tumor development. He stated that I’m aware of that because I’m in the medical field. He stated that that’s why these two homes were not able to be sold. He stated that if these high-tension wires cross my home, I’m at risk. He stated that I don’t want that risk. He stated that I intentionally didn’t buy these homes because of that high-tension wire. He stated that we looked for property without possibility of high-tension wires. He stated that they do lower the cost of your property.

Mr. Paul stated that that farm row, that piece that you’re going to buy, off that gentleman is almost a mile long with no houses on it. He asked, why would you buy and build right directly across from a farmhouse? He stated that that’s my point. He stated that if you got all this vacant land, plus the vacant land on the other side, why not go back farther and get it out of the way?

Brad Cavanaugh stated, again, I hadn’t heard anything about any of their plans for screenage (sic) other than a fence, and didn’t know if that was in their plans or if that’s part of an ordinance that has to be followed under the 30 percent (sic) greenspace law.

The public hearing was then closed.




Mr. Detert asked, that substation on 250 and 670, 250 S. and 675 W., is that your substation?

Mr. Sears stated, Porter substation, yes.

Mr. Detert asked, and is that a distribution point or a substation?

Mr. Sears stated that it’s identical to what we’re proposing here, not the size or shape, but the functionality of it is the same.

Mr. Detert stated that the reason I asked, is that within the last year there were NIPSCO trucks parked outside, or what looked like NIPSCO trucks – maybe they were yours—and they were there about a month off and on, and I’m questioning that relative to Brian’s comments that you don’t need any parking. He asked, did they have some kind of a major overhaul there or something that these trucks were there?

Mr. Sears stated, no. He stated that I think what you’re referring to – NIPSCO wouldn’t be in that area – I had come by there one time and found that NITCO was doing some work along that road, and they were using our facility as basically a parking space during lunchtime and break times just because they could get them off – that’s a very busy road.

Mr. Detert stated that there might have been a subdivision going up across the street, too. He stated that I didn’t stop and question them, but those trucks were there off and on for probably over a month.

Mr. Sears stated that if my memory serves me, we haven’t had any need for any maintenance over there for the past couple of years, so I can’t recall. He stated that if there’s problems there, there should be people working there. He stated that there’s not trucks just parked there.

Mr. Detert stated that they might have been using your driveway. He stated, but, if you’re going to have service there any time, you need to provide adequate parking for those vehicles that will be there.

Mr. Sears stated, yes, and our plan shows a horseshoe driveway. He stated that there is a little added area in the front for stone for parking.

Mr. Detert stated, for some reason, I don’t have the package that shows the driveway. He asked, do you have something that shows the driveway? He stated that there was a question on the Inspection Committee report that they wanted to keep that driveway as far away from the intersection as possible, so is it really necessary that you have the horseshoe driveway, or could you come in at the farthest point and park there and then turn around and back up?




Mr. Sears stated that the pictures that were handed out to you first, if you go to the third picture you’ll see our existing Kouts station that was approved a couple of years ago. He stated that you’ll see the design of the station. He stated that most all of your equipment lies through the center of the structure and what we provide for is double gates on either side of the structure so you can drive around. He stated that the driveway is on either side of the structure, so you can drive around. He stated that the driveways have merely been aligned with the gates. He stated, as I mentioned before, one truck comes in once a month to do an inspection.

Mr. Detert asked, pickup truck?

Mr. Sears stated, yes. He stated that we don’t use this as a meeting place or a congregation place. He stated that as you can see by these pictures here, there are no trucks parked here.

Mr. Detert stated that I couldn’t help thinking back a number of years ago when you were saying how few outages you had when I had to buy a generator when it was so cold in March. He stated that I now have a generator, so that if you guys go down, I’m going to fire it up. He stated that I guess if you’re going to have growth, you’re going to have to have substations and people want to move to Porter County and the people that are here don’t like to give up their rural setting, but I guess if people want to sell their land we can’t really stop them from doing that because it spoils somebody’s view; much as I’d like to maintain my view, I couldn’t stop it there either. He stated, health hazard, I’ve read some things about that, and, to my knowledge, there’s never been any scientific proof that it is hazardous, although, you really have to wonder if we really don’t know the outcome of sitting under a line for 30 years. He asked, are you a doctor, sir?

Mr. Kellar stated, yes, sir. He stated, and it’s a proven fact, I can take you to the journals and show you.

Mr. Detert stated, okay. He stated that I’ll accept your testimony.

Mr. Hurley stated, well, let me just point one thing out. He stated that it used to be, a long time ago, transformers had PCV’s. He stated that that practice has been stopped.

Mr. Detert stated that I think he’s talking about the electromagnetic field that’s given off, and I’ve even heard about farm cattle that have been affected by that, and so there is some electromagnetism that is given off by those lines.

Mr. Sears asked, you’re talking about the stray voltage that affects the dairy cows?



Mr. Detert stated, yes.

Mr. Sears stated that all of the instances that we’ve found of stray voltage comes from equipment; it doesn’t come from the power lines.

Mr. Detert asked, it comes from what equipment?

Mr. Sears stated, the equipment at the dairy farm. He stated that you’ll have a short in them – a water heater or pan heater or something like that. He stated that that’s what disturbs milking parlors. He stated that as it was talked about the high-tension lines, we don’t have high-tension lines feeding this substation. He stated that high-tension lines are what run from the generating plants. He stated that in this picture that we show a mile to the South are NIPSCO’s high-tension lines. He stated that those are not going to be extended to come to this station. He stated that the lines that come to this station are 69,000-volt lines that run up and down Highway 49 and U.S. 30 today. He stated, the ones that are criss-crossing…on conventional wood poles that we all see.

Mr. Detert stated that I think the gentleman was talking about the lines that are way up in the air on these metal towers.

Mr. Sears stated that the current design is for a 69,000-volt line to feed this station. He stated that that’s what all of our stations have always been, 69,000 volt lines.

Mr. Burns asked, what are those voltages NIPSCO uses with the high tension towers?

Mr. Sears stated that they start at 138 and go up to 345. He stated that there are some 6,000 volt lines that go across Malden area that come from ADP. He stated that you can stand underneath them things and I’ve drawn an arc off the handle of a pickup truck. He stated that them (sic) things snap and crackle in the middle of the day.

Mr. Hurley stated that if you’ve ever played golf at Aberdeen, right up the fairway on Number 9, is that NIPSCO right-of-way that goes through there.

Mr. Sears stated that and the statement was made, too, about the property values. He stated, I mean, the power line was there and Aberdeen got built.

Mr. Detert stated that the property values aren’t going to be very good if you can’t supply electricity, so it’s kind of a necessary evil, I guess. He stated that the other thing was is that you can certainly screen this, and that would be my suggestion, that if this is okayed that we have screening of evergreens around it. He stated that I’m a little bit shocked here, Brian, at the picture that you gave us, why are all those wire coils parked outside there? He stated


that I would think that that would be something you’d want inside storage.

Mr. Sears stated that they are inside the fence.

Mr. Detert stated that they are inside the fence, but they’re not under roof and they’re open to sight. He stated that I think that as long as you’re going to have odds and ends like that laying around there, you definitely need screening, but I would think that you need screening anyway to hide it.

Mr. Sears stated that that’s not a normal thing. He stated that what’s going on here is that we have a contractor working in the area and they’ve been using that for storage. He stated that it’s reels of wire for new construction. He stated that you can even see a cooler in the very first picture. He stated that I apologize for that. He stated that that’s not a normal thing.

Mr. Detert stated that I would still like to see screening.

Mr. Sears stated that that issue was brought up. He stated that you notice this station doesn’t have screening. He stated that that issue was brought up before, several years ago, and as we talked to you at that time, screening attracts animals. He stated that birds come in there, and I don’t have the pictures with me. He stated that we had screening around our Washington substation and last summer I got in there on an inspection and found a raccoon in there, dead. He stated that what happens is that the birds get in the trees and the birds go, oh, I can come over here and make a nest in the substation and nobody’s going to bother me. He stated that all of a sudden Mr. Raccoon got out there and started eating some of the eggs and got killed. He stated that that causes a power outage, that causes damage to the equipment.

Mr. Detert stated that I remember when a squirrel shut the mill down.

Mr. Sears stated that I understand the idea of the screening, but there’s two issues – the animals. He stated that the second one is for security purposes. He stated that if you screen the thing, somebody can get in there and nobody is going to know they’re in there. He stated that the whole idea of leaving it wide open, the average person isn’t going to go in there and start messing around, because it’s lit up, it’s open, and people can see what you’re doing.

Mr. Detert stated that the reason I was thinking about screening is that even though there aren’t that many homes around there now, if you sat on the Plan Commission and saw how much activity we’re getting in Morgan Township, there’s going to be homes there someday, and I’m not so sure that we wouldn’t want them to be screened from having to look at the substation.




Mr. Sears stated that none of our other substations, except for the Washington one, is screened, and I can tell you, that’s the one we’ve had the most issues with.

Mr. Detert stated that the one I mentioned is not screened.

Mr. Sears stated, yes, and the ironic part is that the ground across the street was vacant farmland and some fellow came along and put a really nice subdivision in there and they got really good dollars on them (sic) houses, so the subdivision didn’t take away from that property.

Mr. Detert stated, yeah, the subdivision didn’t hurt that property value.

Mr. Burns asked, is it an eyesore? He stated, yes. He asked, is it necessary? He stated, yes. He stated, I think we have to be flexible. He stated that I think you do need screening. He stated that NIPSCO did it on 700 N. and 250 W. He stated, yes, there’s a small risk. He stated, I mean, how often are you talking an outage from an animal? He asked, once every three or four years? He stated that I think they need to be screened. He stated that I think if there’s a possibility of moving this back further off the road that should be done, too. He stated that we need this compromising here. He stated that I agree we need it, but also, it has to be screened and also, how far can it be moved back off the road without affecting the location and operation of this.

Mr. Sears stated, as far as your question about how far setting it back, are you talking about moving it down the road?

Mr. Burns stated, down the road to get it away from the intersection.

Mr. Hurley stated that the closer it is to an intersection, the more it blends in with the pavement of the two roads coming together. He stated that it becomes more of an eyesore the more you move it back because it sticks out more, because now it’s moved back from off the road. He stated that I haven’t really talked with Scott about the flexibility that we would have with the site.

Mr. Burns stated, I guess, Brian, if we move it back further, are you moving it away from houses, the majority of houses?

Mr. Sears stated that if we moved it to the East it would be more across the street from the farm that’s there.

Mr. Hurley stated that if we move it South it’s going to be closer to the people that are down on 100 W.

Mr. Sears stated, and understand that our main distribution line that goes East and feeds the Malden area and goes West and feeds the


Aberdeen area runs East and West along 150 S., so we would like to keep it in contact with the 150 S. road.

Mr. Burns stated that that’s a cost factor.

Mr. Sears stated, yes.

Mr. Burns stated, I understand that. He stated, again, we have to compromise, and I think we need it, but I think we have to compromise. He asked, was this your Number 1 location, because normally when you engineer something, you have two or three different locations. He asked, which location was this – A, B or C, or 1, 2 or 3?

Mr. Sears stated that this was Number 6.

Mr. Burns asked, why is that?

Mr. Sears stated, well, if you look at the very last drawing that I sent to you – if I may approach you, as I mentioned, every one of these dots is a home, and where you see the word subdivisions, the most load is to the West of this site, the Aberdeen area, the Autumn Oaks area, the Eagle Views that are going in, and then also coming down on 100 S. certainly that land there by Forest View and Woodland Estates is prime for development. He stated that we looked at the area along Highway 2. He stated that we were unsuccessful in getting anybody to accept an offer from us. He stated that we had even contacted the folks at Aberdeen prior to them developing the EC section right underneath the power line to buy that property from them, and that fell through. He stated that at this intersection I did contact all parties at the corner – the farmer across the street, there’s a family that lives up in North Liberty and I contacted them and they weren’t willing to sell to me unless I moved up farther North. He stated, unfortunately, farther North, there’s no power lines along there. He stated that it was an expense issue there. He stated that to the West and to the North is Mr. Graeber that has the farm on the hill. He stated that he lives on 200 W. and I spoke to him. He stated that he wasn’t willing to accept an offer from us. He stated that the Cavanaugh family, I did try to speak to them and was unsuccessful. He stated that we looked around. He stated that obviously, with our electrical system you got to find a spot that conforms to where the electric lines go. He stated that you don’t just stick it out there in nowhereland. He stated, you stick it out in nowhereland and guess what: You got to bring everything to it and get everything out to where the citizens are, so, yeah, the answer to your question is that we did look at other sites and this is the one where we were successful in getting a purchase offer.

Mr. Burns asked, and there won’t be any high-tension towers?

Mr. Sears stated that the design right now is, as all of our stations have been, is a 69,000-volt line, which is what you see on the wooden poles up around through town here and up and down the highways.

Mr. Burns asked, could that change? He asked, could you commit not to put high-tension towers in?

Mr. Sears asked, the metal towers?

Mr. Burns stated, yes. He stated, ever.

Mr. Sears stated, um, if that’s a condition of this Special Exception, we will conform to it, yes.

Mr. Burns asked, and screening. He stated that I heard your comments. He asked, are you still rigid on that?

Mr. Sears stated that I understand what you are saying, but any outage is too much and no outage…especially when you talk about a substation. He stated that the power transformer inside there is $200,000.

Mr. Burns stated, but birds fly in there, birds sit on the equipment. He stated that you see them when you drive by, and that’s without screening.

Mr. Sears stated that birds are okay. He stated that birds aren’t bad until they start building nests and that kind of stuff. He stated that it’s the things that come in after the birds, the raccoons – they come in; the possums come in. He stated that I’m sorry I didn’t bring the picture, but if you could see the picture of the dead raccoon in the substation, we’ve been in the utility business. He stated that I speak to other people and when you have catastrophic failures of equipment due to animals, it’s an expensive issue.

Mr. Burns stated that, but see, this is why you want screening, just what Bob Detert brought up. He stated, I mean, here you have outside storage in a sense, all these cable spools, and plus, it hides the equipment somewhat. He stated that if you look at …I think it’s on 700, it’s a cell tower and they screened it, and, of course, we know how high the cell tower is, but your eye catches the screening, the evergreens. He stated that it does help. He stated that it does help the neighborhood.

Mr. Sears stated that I would have to speak with, obviously, our insurance company. He stated that I know the National Electric Safety Code doesn’t address screening. He stated that the National Electric Safety Code, which is what governs us, gives us the rules we’ve got to abide by, they merely talk about the security issues. He stated that you’ve got to put up signs that say, danger, do not enter, put the fence up, put the barbed wire up, they really don’t go to the issue of screening. He stated that they don’t say you can’t have it, but they really don’t address what type is satisfactory.

Mr. Burns stated, because some towns and cities require that, throughout the country, I’m sure you have seen them. He stated, I mean, you can’t say all utility companies don’t screen because that’s not a true statement. He stated that there is some that it is


required by your towns and cities. He stated that I agree – there might be a risk factor, too.

Mr. Robertson asked, why can’t these be put in a building? He asked, why can’t a building be built over these?

Mr. Sears stated, well, the first thing that comes to my mind is accessibility. He stated, I mean, you have regulators and reclosures in here that you have to use a crane to come in and set. He stated, if you have to replace them, have to do maintenance on them, so accessibility…I mean, quite frankly, I’ve not seen…

Mr. Burns asked, isn’t heat a factor?

Mr. Sears stated, well, obviously these things, I mean, especially the power transformer puts out enormous amounts of heat because they have radiators and that kind of stuff.

Mr. Robertson stated, the roof could be designed with some kind of a sliding thing. He stated, I don’t know. He stated that maybe it just gets too complicated and expensive, but they’re always out in the open and I just wondered why you couldn’t build a building around them. He stated that it seems like it would make them look a lot better and I realize it would cost more money, but, eventually, it does become a….it’s definitely an eyesore. He asked, has anybody ever looked at putting some kind of a building around these things?

Mr. Sears stated that I can tell you I’ve never seen any designs of one like that inside a building.

Mr. Robertson stated, well, they’re large, but…

Mr. Sears stated that the fenced area is 100 by 150 feet. He stated that the physical structure that’s in there I’m going to tell you is probably no more than 40 by 60.

Mr. Robertson asked, and how tall?

Mr. Sears stated, well, the A-frame…

Mr. Robertson stated, the A-frame is extra tall, I can see that.

Mr. Sears stated that I think the height on the A-frame is going to sit at about, if my memory serves me, it’s about 47 feet to the top of the A-frame.

Mr. Robertson asked, what about the other part there, it’s about 35 or so?

Mr. Sears stated, yeah, with the lightning rod on the top it kind of gives the impression of it being higher. He stated, of course, you have the static wires coming over the top to provide lightning protection.

Mr. Burns asked, does that A-frame have to be that high?

Mr. Sears stated, yeah, the code clearances.

Mr. Robertson stated, maybe the A-frame could be outside, or it could be in two separate enclosures. He stated that I think it would look a lot better if there was some way it could be, you could put a skin around the thing. He stated that I feel so sorry for the people here that it is the cost of living, I mean, if you use electricity you can’t really say you’re not going to have an electrical substation, and ma’am, this is a transformer. He stated that this is what the transformers are – it steps the power down so you can use it in your toaster without blowing everything up. He stated that that is what a transformer does: It transforms the electricity down. He stated, but, if there’s any way we can mitigate the way it looks, because it’s such an industrial looking thing and it’s out there in the beautiful rural setting. He asked, has anybody ever thought about that, or is that something we want to look at?

Mr. Hurley stated that I would be surprised if it was in the normal course of business to have these enclosed, because I’ve never…

Mr. Detert stated that we’re exploring new territory.

Mr. Robertson stated, yeah, we’re boldly going…

Mr. Burns stated, thinking out of the box.

Mr. Robertson stated, if it’s just cost-prohibitive, I could completely understand, but I wonder if …

Mr. Hurley stated that I think it’s got to be something more than just cost. He stated that there’s got to be some sort of clearances that are necessary that you just can’t have these things too close to any sort of material inside.

Mr. Robertson stated, course, they build these generating stations, you know, and they’re all enclosed.

Mr. Sears stated, well, but the electrical items…the (inaudible) comes outside.

Mr. Detert stated that we need to bring this to some kind of conclusion. He asked, do you want him to come back with some screening suggestions?

Mr. Sears asked, would screening be such an issue if we was (sic) able to relocate this from, say, the intersection?

Mr. Robertson asked, you’re still going to go along the East-West road, right?

Mr. Sears stated, along the East-West road. He stated that the people that came and spoke today, the first gentleman, he’s a mile and


a half to the Northwest. He stated that the other gentleman that has the property to the West there, and then the lady to the South….I mean
if we was to move to the East from, if my memory serves me, to the ditch is a half-mile. He stated that if we was (sic) to be able to, if the landowner was agreeable to selling us land further to the East, still within his acreage here and we was (sic) to keep the same footprint, obviously the side setback would change due to not being alongside of a road on that side, would that alleviate the Board’s concerns as far as the screening would be concerned?

Mr. Burns stated, I don’t think so. He stated that I think you need both. He stated that I think you need to relocate it and some screening. He stated that it helps the eyesore.

Mr. Sears stated that the fellow that lives to the West that lives on top of the hill, he’s sitting probably 20, 30 feet above grade and he’s going to see over top of the screening, so…

Mr. Burns stated that NIPSCO put screening in on 700. He stated that I mean they agreed to it. He stated, 200 W. and 700 N.

Mr. Sears stated that that’s a pretty major substation there. He stated that they put screenage…

Mr. Burns stated, on the fence on both 700 and 200, 250.

Mr. Sears asked, that gravel road that was on the side there. He asked, your idea about screenage then, if it’s on a corner like this, you’re talking about just the two sides that are visible from the road?

Mr. Burns stated, yeah, exactly.

Mr. Sears asked, and, if it was to move to the East where we only front on one road then your only concern would be just along the front then?

Mr. Burns stated, well, I would have to see the layout. He stated, maybe, but I would have to see the layout. He stated, again, I think it’s necessary and I think we all understand that, but we have to have a balance here.

Mr. Sears stated, screenage along the front, I mean, quite frankly, half of the front is stone, gravel. He stated that it doesn’t really provide for screening.

Mr. Detert stated, not too much screening when you do the driveway the way you are talking about.

Mr. Burns stated that I’ve never seen it done like that. He stated that most of them only have one drive.




Mr. Sears stated that that’s what was approved for the Kouts line and we built it to that design.

Mr. Burns asked, if you move it back, would you need two driveways?

Mr. Sears stated that we still need the two driveways to provide for the…you know, the large bucket trucks that we have, the safety issue of backing them (sic) trucks out onto the road. He stated that it’s much safer, and doing the maintenance in the station, it provides for a uniform flow of traffic.

Mr. Detert stated that I would suggest that you talk to the Highway engineer about your loop system of entering and leaving. He stated that if he concurs that it’s not a traffic hazard and will not be a problem…He stated that I would suggest that you talk to the Highway engineer on that issue because he’s the expert. He stated that I think there are several concerns here. He stated that the driveway is one, of course. He stated that location is another and the screening is another. He stated that I think a fourth possibility is if the gentleman back there is a doctor if he’s willing to bring in any proof of health issues, I would be interested in recognizing him the next time we hear this to tell us about those issues. He stated that to my knowledge, and I haven’t done a lot of reading on it, but I’ve done some, it hasn’t really been proven. He asked, is that true?

Mr. Sears stated that the latest I triple E studies, and the one done by the Department of Health, they have found no conclusive link between the so-called EMF and health.

Mr. Burns stated, so I can understand this: I thought most of the health concerns were from the high-tension tower.

Mr. Detert stated that I think that’s what he’s talking about. He stated that I was saying that if he has issues other than that that he could bring…

Mr. Burns stated that I always understood that it was the high transmission lines.

Mr. Sears stated, yes.

At this time, Mr. Siminski read the Inspection Committee report. The report is in the file.

Mr. Detert moved to continue Case 05-SE-8 to the 2-15-06 BZA meeting subject to any information they could come back with regarding moving the location, screening, possible building enclosure and any documentation regarding health hazards or lack thereof. Mr. Burns seconded the motion, which carried on a 3-0 roll call vote.






At this time, Mr. Siminski stated that the Board has findings of fact to approve from the 12-21-05 BZA meeting in regard to Cases 05-V-33, 05-V-32 and Case 05-SE-9.

Mr. Detert moved to approve the findings of fact for Case 05-V-33 as published; Case 05-SE-9 as published; and Case 05-V-32 as published. Mr. Burns seconded the motion, which carried on a 3-0 voice vote.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

PORTER COUNTY
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS


S\ James Robertson, Chairman

Attest:S\ Fred M. Siminski, Assistant Director/Zoning Inspector