By VICKI URBANIK

Fran Kras said she moved to Porter County because she agreed with its vision for growth. Barbara Kulchawick said she moved here to get away from subdivisions. And long-time resident Kathy Williams spoke of rural living, with abundant wildlife and horses, chickens and ducks.

They were among the large crowd of Jackson Township residents who spoke out Wednesday against the proposed Stone’s Throw subdivision, arguing that a 40-lot development in what is now a very rural community isn’t a good fit.

After more than two hours of debate Wednesday, the Porter County Plan Commission agreed and unanimously struck down the primary plat sought by JADE Development II, LLC.

The three Michigan City builders who make up JADE proposed to build Stone’s Throw on 84.5 acres on the north side of 700N, west of the Porter-LaPorte county line. Plans called for about 25 percent open space of mostly woods, more than the county requires.

Sarah Lawson, a Chesterton attorney representing JADE, said the homes would be on lots ranging from one to three acres and would be priced at $275,000 to $325,000.

Before the public hearing opened, Lawson told the plan commission that the developers met with residents and agreed to adjust the plans to take into account their concerns, such as by promising to plant low-growing vegetation so that current residents wouldn’t have to view the new backyards fronting on 700N.

But, citing the large crowd gathered at the meeting, Lawson also said there are probably some residents who would object to any new subdivision in that area.

She was right. Not one person in the audience spoke in favor of the plans. Instead, residents raised a myriad of objections, foremost of which was the density, traffic along the very narrow 700N and disruption to a rural way of living.

“It’s a quiet street and we appreciate it that way,” said Gordon Sheffer, adding that there are now just 17 homes along a one-mile stretch of 700N.

Most of the residents in the area moved there to get away from the noise and congestion of urbanized areas, he said. “And now that seems to be coming back in our direction.”

Kras, another 700N resident, disputed Lawson’s contention that the project would be good for Porter County by saying that she doesn’t think the Michigan City-based developers truly understand Porter County.

Citing Whitethorne Woods and Jackson Farms as two quality Jackson Township subdivisions, Kras said she decided to move to Porter County specifically because of the good planning that she saw here compared with other counties.

“I thought Porter County had a better vision,” she said.

Similarly, Kulchawick said she moved to the area after living in a subdivision. Stone’s Throw, she said, is “a nightmare to us,” because it’s too much “like everything we escaped from.”

Williams got a round of applause after passionately speaking about living in a rural community, where people ride horses down 700N and others raise livestock. She raised fears that the new subdivision residents wouldn’t put up with the wildlife in the area, predicting that the new residents would try to kill off the deer after the deer eat their landscape plants.

“That’s not rural living. That’s not a country atmosphere,” she said.

Tim Walsworth said the county “can’t stop progress, but let’s do it in a manner that benefits everyone, not just the developers.”

Several residents also cited a report from County Highway Engineer Dave Schelling, who wrote that 700N can barely handle the existing traffic and that with Stone’s Throw, traffic on 700N would increase by 410 vehicles per day.

Several residents also noted that one of the access roads—Old State Road 2—is partially in LaPorte County and is in very poor condition, but that Porter County cannot force LaPorte officials to improve the road.

At one point, plan commission member and County Commissioner Robert Harper called on one of the residents who raised traffic concerns—former county sheriff Tim McCarthy—to share his expertise in traffic issues. McCarthy said traffic conditions in the surrounding area now are “treacherous.”

When it came time for the plan commission to decide, member Tim Cole praised the developers for coming up with a high-quality plan and for trying to take into account the residents‚ concerns. But he also said a 40-lot subdivision doesn’t fit in the area.

“It’s a boat in the wrong pond,” he said. “This is a Michigan City project. This is an urban project.”

Similarly, planner Todd Hutson cited the orchards and horses in the area and said he was surprised at the poor condition of 700N. “It’s a great subdivision, maybe somewhere else,” he said.

The vote to deny the primary plat was 7-0, with members Cole, Hutson, Harper, Elizabeth Marshall, Herb Read, Rick Burns and Robert Detert voting unanimously. Members Kevin Breitzke and Jim Burge were absent.

Posted 8/10/2006