DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Regular Meeting
October 16, 2008

M I N U T E S

The regular meeting of the Development Advisory Committee was held on October 16, 2008 at 1 p.m. in the Porter County Administration Center, 155 Indiana Avenue, Valparaiso, Indiana.

Those members present were Kevin Breitzke, Harvey Nix, Joey Larr, Ray Joseph and Mike Haller.

The following cases were heard by the Committee on this date: 

Informal for Taltree gatehouse site review.

Damien Gabis stated that he is representing the petitioners in this matter.  He stated that this is for a gatehouse where they can control traffic coming into the arboretum.  They plan on installing it about 400 feet from 100 N. on their existing paved lane, but they are going to widen the lane enough to have the gatehouse in the middle of it.  It will be on a concrete pedestal, with curbing, and the gatehouse will be 8 by 12, and the widening of the road will be enough for a car to pass on either side.  Just a few feet South of the gatehouse will be a point for turning around. The building itself will have high-grade aluminum windows around the whole perimeter, except the North wall, which will hold the air conditioning and heating unit, like they use in mobile classrooms.  There will be an asphalt shingle roof. There won’t be any plumbing in it.  There won’t be electricity.  There will be computer lines and telephone lines.  It will be manned by Taltree-paid employees.  Starting off, they don’t know what the demand will be, but, in the wintertime, it’s not high.  In the summer, it’s mostly weekend situation.  Right now, they have a camera on the parking lot and they use that to count their visitors and the people who volunteer to go over the DVR every week say that there are a lot of people who come in who aren’t putting the money in the voluntary admission thing, and that’s one of  the reasons why they need to have this gate.  He thinks they are missing a mess of revenue.  Also, they don’t have good access control because of they can’t afford to have somebody out there full-time welcoming people.  They’ve seen people come in and not leave on time.  It will be better security.

Mr. Joseph asked if  there are actually going to be gates.

Mr. Gabis stated, no.  They already have a gate that is about 100 feet off of 100 N.  It’s an automatic gate that will be significantly far away from the gatehouse, and that gate opens automatically at 8 a.m. and closes at 5 at night.    That’s the only gate they are going to have.  They are trying to keep it as low-key as possible and still get the job done. 

Mr. Larr asked if the entire project is on less than 1 acre.

Mr. Gabis stated that it's on less than 100 square feet.

Mr. Larr asked if the pathway is a private drive.

Mr. Gabis stated that it is.

Mr. Larr asked what their biggest attendance day is.

Mr. Gabis stated that in their concert series when they have bluegrass bands they get maybe 300.  And they have a special event that they just started two years ago.  Last year it was a Night in Spain.  This year it will have a Mediterranean theme.    They get about 300 to 400 people then.  They are slowly increasing their attendance.  They just keep trying to increase that.

Mr. Larr asked, from a sight line from 100 N., you won’t be able to see it?

Mr. Gabis stated, you’ll be able to see part of it from probably midway up the windows.  It’s not obtrusive.  The bottom of the building will be some of this thin brick that North Star makes and it will be attuned to the same architectural style and pitch that they have on the restroom and on the pavilion.  So, it will blend in with the architecture.

Mr. Breitzke stated that they are dealing in an area of about 1,400 square feet.

Mr. Gabis stated that it shouldn’t change the drainage at all. It’s already established, and there’s a nice swale down the East side and  the West side, as a matter of fact.

Mr. Breitzke stated that he doesn’t see any real issues.  This basically appears to be the dimensions and the idea of  the gatehouse, but it’s not how it’s going to really be.   Are they going to have power running to the gatehouse?

Mr. Gabis stated, yes.   It’s coming from the pedestal that they already have.

Case 07-6-16.  Petition of Michael & Annette Bobruk, 6514 E. 109th Ave., Crown Point, seeking primary plat review for a major subdivision, Springview Estates, to be located at approximately 175 S. 675 W., in Porter Township.  To contain 22 lots on 45+ acres.  Zoned RR. (Sec.11-34N-7W)

Randy Sekerez and Tom Sanderson stated that they are representing the petitioners in this matter.

Mr. Joseph stated that they were originally scheduled for the Plan Commission on July 11th and it was tabled because of storm water review by DLZ.

Mr. Sekerez stated that he was happy with how they addressed the comments and has no additional comments.

Mr. Sanderson stated that around that time they had to go through the Drainage Board, also. 

Mr. Sekerez stated that they had four DAC meetings and three DLZ reviews from Tony Kenning, so it’s a 22-lot subdivision and has been pretty thoroughly reviewed at this point.

Mr. Breitzke stated, except I don’t think you appeared at all the Drainage Board meetings, did you?

Mr. Sanderson stated, yes.

Mr. Breitzke stated, because we still need to set assessments on the final number of lots.  We still have one more Drainage Board meeting. 

Mr. Joseph stated that they received a letter from DLZ with their approval and they are set for the Plan Commission. 

Mr. Haller asked, which regulated drain is involved here?

Mr. Sanderson stated that the last Drainage Board review they went to they created the whole area around the pond as a regulated drain and the ditch that leads to it.

Mr. Breitzke stated that this is the creation of the financial mechanism for maintenance that they call regulated drain, to file a statutory prescription that they would have to collect monies annually.  They need to prescribe an amount that will suspend payments, but that way they know there’s money in the account to maintain the ponds, unless there’s some other vehicle available.  It actually goes into natural waterways from this point on.

Mr. Haller asked where they are.   He knows right where this is.  Deer Manor is like the worst place on earth for water and drainage control, so he gets lit up when he sees something come in right next door, and he assumes this off-site pond here is this rectangular pond, right by the street.

Mr. Sanderson stated, yes.

Mr. Breitzke  stated that they actually have Springwood Estates to the East.

Mr. Haller stated, yeah, this is going to connect to the North.

Mr. Breitzke stated, and then that Deer Meadow was the former Harvey Steuer farm.

Mr. Haller stated that the reason he asked about which regulated drain was so he could fix in his mind, but what he is doing is creating one now.  He was trying to figure out where it was all going.

Mr. Breitzke asked, it goes West, doesn’t it?

Mr. Sanderson stated, the area just to the North of the existing ponds.  It’s kind of convoluted over there, as far as the drainage goes, so they just assume accepting whatever comes their way, even if it doesn’t necessarily come their way, they just figured it’s kind of messed up; they’ll just take it.  They’re expanding an existing culvert that runs under the street, an existing 24-inch corrugated metal pipe.  They are upgrading that to a 30-inch concrete pipe.  From their reviews from DLZ, their reviews were mostly technical in nature, but they had a few improvements they wanted them to make, including an overflow and they’ve addressed all those issues.

Mr. Breitzke stated that that’s something the former Highway engineer and he were requesting, a new pipe under the road.  They worked kind of back and forth on getting that drainage through and around.  He stated that they’ve been evolving the storm water management policies, even as they were composing this.  He appreciates that they worked with them on this.   This should realize some improvements for the community, as well.

Mr. Sekerez asked, as far as the assessment that you mentioned for the Drainage Board.  Is there anything they need to do for that?

Mr. Breitzke stated that he will figure that out. 

Mr. Joseph asked if  they are proposing any buffers along CR 675 at all?

Mr. Sanderson stated that there are some lots along Springwood that back up to that.  So, to abate any concerns they are putting up some landscaping there along 675 W.   They dedicated some additional right-of-way there, and, along the pond, there’s quite a bit of landscaping that (inaudible) to the ditch and the walkway that goes along the pond, along Lot 1, there’s an existing kind of low-lying area there, but, as far as immediately along the road, no.  They’ve allocated for dedicating some right-of-way and approving that ditch, landscaping the ditch.

Mr. Haller stated that they need addresses on the plat.

Mr. Breitzke asked if this is their final plat.  They have plat of subdivision.

Mr. Sekerez stated, no.

Mr. Breitzke stated that what they are looking at is actually the final plat except for the title and the addresses.

Mr. Haller stated that he wants to nail the addresses down now and make sure they cut into Carpathian.

Mr. Breitzke stated that they would like limited access off 675, all the way around the corner to about 50 feet past the PI’s of the curves.  He asked if  this is still the preliminary plat.

Mr. Joseph stated that it’s primary.   Typically, addresses are on the final plat.   They should submit the addresses to Fred Siminski, who checks them.  Since there are no real changes that have to be made, they will not have to return to DAC.

Mr. Breitzke asked if they have all the septic test holes resolved.

Mr. Sanderson stated, yes, there are borings for each lot.

Mr. Breitzke asked if they are supposed to have perimeter drainage, a master tile or anything.

Mr. Sanderson stated that it’s probably not suited for mound systems, really.

Mr. Haller asked if the drain tiles are going to be the same depth.

Mr. Sanderson stated that they are.  But there is quite a bit of storm sewer on here and the grading worked out really well with respect that there was pretty much always a way to send the water with plenty of relief on the site.   As far as any perimeter drain tiles, there are ample locations to connect.   They are also supplied sump pump stubs for each lot.

Mr. Breitzke stated that he doesn’t have a problem with perimeter drains. If they  could avoid master tile for perimeter drains to feed into that would really be the best way to work these.

Mr. Haller asked if he heard them say that these are all going to be mound systems.

Mr. Sanderson stated that he thinks it’s really dependent on the lot owners.

Mr. Haller asked if that’s something that DLZ takes into consideration, because, in Deer Manor there are two houses with massive mound systems and it has generated some drainage issues. 

Mr. Breitzke stated that they typically don’t, because it’s kind of an artificial water situation.  Still, with those mound systems, there should be some kind of subsurface drainage in addition to everything.  He knows one lot that they really need to re-landscape the lot bad and they just can’t quite get it.  So much of our drainage problem is what people do after they buy the lots – put up fences, fill in low areas, and end up blocking and impounding water.  He stated that it's impossible to police.

Mr. Joseph asked if covenants have ever been submitted.

Mr. Sekerez stated that he doesn’t think so.

Mr. Joseph stated that if they are going to require them for the subdivision, they should be submitted for the file and, eventually, recorded.

Mr. Breitzke stated that if they are going to have covenants and restrictions, it should be by final plat.  One thing they should make sure they include in that is recovery of legal cost of the citizen should they have to go against their own property owners’ association that if they’re in the right, they can recover their expenses. 

Mr. Sekerez stated that he would think that encourages people to sue the homeowners’ association.

Mr. Breitzke stated that he hasn’t really seen that.

Mr. Joseph stated that in the UDO there is specific wording about drainage, maintenance of easements and stuff like that.  It would be really nice to include it. 

Mr. Breitzke stated that if they are going to have a POA, it should be one that’s registered with the state and incorporate the POA if they take charge of it, but they could do it either way, specific to the drainage structure.

Issues raised were addresses; limited access off 675; submit covenants if you are going to have them; include wording about maintenance of drainage easements etc from the UDO.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:45 p.m.