By PAULENE POPARAD

Some Burns Harbor Advisory Plan Commission members remain far apart over how much of the comprehensive plan, land use plan and other ordinances need to be revamped, but there was agreement Wednesday that a community survey should be the first step.

Developing the questions that will seek public input about the town’s future was the homework assignment for members, who will meet April 7 at 7 p.m. to discuss them. A final survey will be approved in May and go out to residents in the town’s spring newsletter.

Commission members are hoping that a high percentage of the surveys will be returned.

Members were given a copy of survey results from a 1993 poll of residents and property owners taken the last time the comprehensive plan and the entire zoning ordinance were updated over nearly two years with the help of a consultant.

There emerged more of a consensus Wednesday that a consultant should be hired at some point to help guide the commission in mapping out an updated development plan. Member Cliff Fleming has wanted the commission to hire a zoning consultant now or at least advertise for requests for proposals and do interviews to position the town for when hiring a professional planner is desired.

Members Jim Meeks, Terry Swanson and Virginia Bain said that’s premature. “I don’t want someone to tell me, ‘This is what you want’,” said Bain.

Fleming said the commission needs a facilitator to draft the survey questions. Asked Bain, “Why pay when we’re all capable of doing it ourselves?” Fleming said the town has no one driving the process. “You are,” replied Meeks. “You want to spend money.” Fleming said soliciting proposals would be at no cost.

The commission has asked its attorney to advise it how to go about having the Town Council enact a moratorium on new construction not already pending in growth pockets, primarily along U.S. 20. Those areas might be candidates for being designated special districts that have additional zoning restrictions attached.

What kind of development to plan there remains undecided. Bain said while some residents may want change, others like the status quo. “I know residents (who are) extremely happy with the way this town is.” Replied Fleming, “How many ‘theys’ are there?”

Commission member Jim McGee asked once the survey results are in hand, what does the commission plan to do do with them? Meeks said that will be a starting point.

Swanson said he doesn’t see a need to throw out the zoning book and start over. “I wasn’t envisioning the rebuilding of the town this evening.” Fleming said a consultant would advise the commission. “Why start with something that might not have been perfect?” he asked.

Doing the best planning job the town can would increase property value, help attract commercial/retail that would lower property taxes, and enhance quality of life, Fleming stressed.

His vision for Burns Harbor is a hike/bike trail connecting with the long-planned Porter Brickyard Trail at Howe Road, a pedestrian-friendly town center likely somewhere along U.S. 20, improved traffic flow, a grocery store and other amenities to make Burns Harbor more of a self-contained community.

McGee said the majority of Town Council candidates elected share those goals. He and Fleming are council members. Council and commission member Mike Perrine and citizen member Jeff Freeze were absent Wednesday.

According to Meeks, “The idea of everyone walking everywhere is a fantasy.” He said the Arcelor Mittal steel mill, a busy travel center, several automobile dealers and the huge number of semi-trucks per day that pass through town can’t be ignored. Fleming said with proper planning, traffic improvements would mitigate the negatives; to that end he said he met for several hours with a representative of the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Before, said Fleming, traffic patterns at U.S. 20 and Indiana 149 were established for vehicles to pass through Burns Harbor because there was nothing here to stop for. Professionals could advise how pedestrains could make safe passage across busy traffic lanes, he explained.

Meeks said you can’t have 14 miles of trails, a grocery store and a movie theater in a town of five square miles. He also questioned the emphasis being placed on retail, reminding how devastated Burns Harbor was financially when Bethlehem Steel went bankrupt. Meeks said the town needs to diversify and seek out corporate and professional offices that pay a good wage and benefits, not service wages.

Swanson said the town doesn’t have a wharf or warehouse district to develop around but forgotten are the three most important features the town has: “A river full of salmon, the National Lakeshore and Lake Michigan.”

Brad Enslen, who moved to Burns Harbor 18 months ago from Merrillville, attended the commission meeting. He’s also lived in Schererville. “I call them Ville. You can’t tell where one starts and one ends. None of those towns planned very well, if at all, for their growth. I don’t think too many towns have the opportunity we have in Burns Harbor. It seems to me to be a terrible thing to let that opportunity go by.”

Enslen, who supports a walking-friendly town, said with talk of a new development plan, rumors have taken hold. He urged the commission to calm fears, educate the residents about what’s going on and use the planning process as a teaching moment. “It may require you to knock on some doors.”

Burns Harbor building commissioner Randal Lopez told the commission that, despite their individual approaches, “All of you want to improve the town. It’s a matter of how you do it. You have a good town and want to make it better.”

Posted 3/21/2008