Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Burns Harbor tree care ordinance for subdivisions to get a hearing

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By JEFF SCHULTZ

The Burns Harbor Advisory Plan Commission will consider an ordinance governing tree planting and care for new developments in the town.

During Monday’s plan meeting, board attorney Chuck Parkinson presented a draft of the ordinance that would amend town subdivision control and zoning rules.

The most discussed portion involved planting trees in “parkway areas” or the part of a lot located between the sidewalk and the road, which is part of the Town’s right-of-way.

Property owners, or the corresponding homeowner association, will have to submit proof that they will assume liability for caring and maintenance of trees in order to plant a tree in a parkway area, according to the ordinance.

“If you are going to plant trees in the Town’s area, you’ve got to take care of them,” said Parkinson.

The ordinance states that in cases where the property is renovated, in more than 50 percent of the building site area or square footage of a principal structure, the property owner will need to remove trees in the parkway area.

However, the ordinance allows current owners of properties with parkway trees already planted a chance to register trees as property of the Town within 60 days after the ordinance goes into effect.

In other words, the Town will assume responsibility for registered trees, but if trees aren’t registered within the time limit, the property owner will have liability for them.

“It will be the owner’s responsibility to maintain the tree after those 60 days,” Parkinson said.

The Town will keep a list of registered trees, Parkinson said. The ordinance will be administered by the Town’s building commissioner.

Commission President Jeff Freeze said the board will give the ordinance a preliminary and/or public hearing at its next meeting.

Additionally, the ordinance requires that developers submit a landscape plan indicating the number and approximate location of trees to be located in parkways. Trees will need to be planted before an occupancy permit can be issued.

Trail Creek Phase 2

In other business, developer Pat Kleihege of Great Lakes Development shared the latest plans on Phase 2 of the Trail Creek Subdivision, located on the west side of South Babcock Road.

Phase 2 consists of 20 lots that Kleihege said will be developed in the same character as those in Phase 1, which contains 40 lots. There will be five-foot wide sidewalks installed, a T-shaped turnaround and a bridge over Gustafson Ditch, which runs along the subdivision’s south side.

There is also a plan to connect to the Prairie-Duneland Trail.

Kleihege said he will have engineering plans for drainage ready to show at the Plan Commission’s meeting next month for approval. He said he has had discussions with the property owner at the southwest corner about connections.

Commission members inquired how trees and landscaping will be planned. Kleihege said the plan is to include trees wherever the town desires and the homeowners would be responsible for maintaining those trees, even in town right-of-ways.

The plans pleased the Commission members. Freeze asked that Kleihege and his landscaper be in line with the standards of the MS4 program. “We don’t want to go back mid-construction,” Freeze said.

2015 officers

In its first meeting of the new year, the board nominated and elected Freeze to continue as its president, along with Eric Hull as its Vice-President.

Member Bernie Poparad was reappointed as the Plan Commission’s representative to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Meanwhile, Commission member Jim McGee said demolition and clearing work has been successful this past week at the site of the former Westport Community Club building, on the northeast corner of Ind. 49 and Haglund Rd., and the site has been seeded.

“It looks real nice,” he said.

McGee said that he thought crews might find a time capsule but none was recovered.

Also, McGee told board members that this week will see the start of major party candidate filings for town elections.

Filing will begin Wednesday and the last day to file is Friday, Feb. 6.

Candidates this year will need to fill out a CAN-12 form stating their economic interests, McGee said, adding that the form is “pretty simple to fill out.”

 

Posted 1/6/2015

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

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