Chesterton Tribune

Sand Creek Farms plan approved, would add 362 houses at east end of Porter Ave

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By KEVIN NEVERS

The Chesterton Town Council has approved the planned unit development ordinance for Sand Creek Farms, one of the larger residential projects to appear in Chesterton in recent years.

At their meeting Monday night, members voted 4-0 to approve the PUD ordinance on first reading, 4-0 to suspend the rules, then 4-0 to approve the ordinance on final reading. They did so without comment.

Member Emerson DeLaney, R-5th, was not in attendance.

Sand Creek Farms—a project of Olson Farms LLC, whose principals are the brothers Vlad and Eric Gastevich--will be built on 130 acres annexed by the council last year in two phases and located at the terminus of East Porter Ave. and east of Friday Road (C.R. 250E).

The PUD ordinance provides for the following:

•362 single-family units of varying size. As currently planned, those on Lots 1-130 will have smaller floor plans and maintenance free exteriors, with empty nesters, young married couples, and single professionals in mind. Those on Lots 131-267 will have larger lots with larger yards intended to service the starter home market. Those on Lots 268-362 will have the largest lots, intended to service the move-up home buyers.

•17 acres of open space. The Gasteviches have also agreed to donate to the Town of Chesterton 20 acres of property in the area of C.R. 1050N and C.R. 250E, to be used to “jump-start” the development of a major park, equivalent to Dogwood Park, on the east side of Ind. 49.

•Two points of ingress and egress, both on C.R. 250E. One will be East Porter Ave., which will be continued into the development under a different name. The other will be to the south of East Porter Ave.

•An estimated four-year build-out.

Under the annexation and development agreement which the Gasteviches reached with the council in 2007, they will make a $200 per unit payment to the town—totaling $72,400—to defray the cost of acquiring new equipment to serve the subdivision.

Builders will also have to pay the $1,171 recreation impact fee enacted by the council last fall and scheduled to take effect in March. The revenues from that fee will go toward the development of new park facilities.

According to a fiscal plan prepared by H.J. Umbaugh & Associates at the Gasteviches’ expense, the council is contemplating the filing of an excess levy appeal in the amount of $529,302 to covert the costs of serving the subdivision, estimated at an annual $602,758.

An excess levy appeal is a request to collect more property taxes than the annual increase allowed by law.

 

Posted 1/15/2008

 

 

 

 

 

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