By KEVIN NEVERS

Chesterton Development Partners LLC, the Lake Erie Land Company’s joint development partner and the developer of the Village Green Townhomes at Coffee Creek Center, is facing a potential fine of anywhere between $1 and $4.5 million for alleged violations of the Town of Chesterton’s stormwater quality control ordinance.

So Stormwater Management Board President Larry Brandt remarked—facetiously—at an administrative hearing Wednesday night.

Still, neither CDP’s representative, Pat Glenn, nor CPD’s attorney, Clyde Compton, disputed the alleged violations during the two-and-a-half-hour hearing, and Town Code is quite explicit on the matter: a first violation is subject to a fine of between $1 and $2,500 and any subsequent violation to a fine of between $1 and $7,500. Since every day in non-compliance with the ordinance is considered a separate violation, and eight different categories of violation—some of them dating to November--are alleged, CDP could be liable to a hefty fine.

Village Green Townhomes is the first project undertaken by CDP since it entered into a formal relationship with the Lake Erie Land Company in June 2006. It occupies 18.5 acres located south of Sidewalk Road and east of Village Point. A total of 94 units in 35 buildings are planned. CDP—whose principal, James Gierczyk, is a developer and builder of retail, office, medical, and industrial projects based in Homewood, Ill.—is the official holder of the Erosion and Sediment Control Permit and is therefore legally responsible for meeting the requirements of the stormwater quality control ordinance.

As tallied by MS4 Operator Jennifer Gadzala, the alleged violations are as follows:

•Failure to minimize sedimentation from runoff, including the escape of sediment-laden water onto Sidewalk Road during rains on Nov. 21, Dec. 3, Dec. 10, and Jan. 8.

•Failure to minimize tracking to keep roads clean, “an ongoing problem.”

•Failure to clean out catch basins, as requested by Gadzala in communications sent to CDP on Nov. 20, Dec. 3, and Dec. 21.

•Failure to install a sediment trap at the corner of Village Point and Legend Circle, as requested on Dec. 21.

•Failure to install erosion control blankets and apply dormant seed, as requested on Dec. 3. Installation and application did not begin until Dec. 27, Gadzalla said, and are not yet complete.

•Failure to backfill curbs, as requested on Nov. 26. Backfilling was not started until Jan. 15, Gadzala said.

•Failure to protect level spreaders from excessively sediment-laden water, as Gadzala informed CDP on Oct. 18, Nov. 5, Nov. 7, and Nov. 26.

•Failure to submit weekly self-monitoring reports. Only half of the required reports were ever submitted, Gadzala said.

In CDP’s defense, Compton established several points in his cross-examination of Gadzalla: that the 18.5 acres in question are severely sloped and that containing stormwater on the site is consequently very difficult; that CDP’s construction contractor estimated the total cost of installing quality control measures at $9,700 and that to date CDP has actually spent $63,499.08 on silt fences, erosion blankets, power-washing, and other items; and that CDP has recently retained the services of the Bonar Group, a Valparaiso engineering firm, to work directly with MS4 staff to resolve problems on site.

For his part Glenn conceded that CDP has indeed failed to comply with the stormwater quality control ordinance. But not for want of trying. “We’ve installed thousands of feet of silt fencing, hundreds of yards of netting. We’ve done everything we can to stay ahead of the curve,” he said. “We haven’t been successful. We tried to do the best we can. Hopefully we will improve.”

Part of the problem originated with his successor, Glenn said, who was removed from the project in December for his failure to be respond promptly and meaningfully to Gadzalla’s requests and notifications. Another part of the problem was his too “aggressive” time line, to which he committed on Dec. 21, for rectifying a number of issues by Dec. 26. CDP failed to do so, he said, as finding anybody to do anything during the holidays proved nearly impossible. But, Glenn added, CDP is at Coffee Creek Center for the long haul. “We’re trying to get through the first 17 acres. We have plans to be here for 10 years.”

That, in fact, is what worries Brandt. “If this project can’t be managed properly, then we’ve got problems,” he said. “This is a huge project.”

In a final statement Compton expressed his willingness to waive the statutory 30-day window in which the Stormwater Management Board has to provide CPD with written findings and to set a fine. Instead, he asked members to take as long as they need and to base their decision more on progress made going forward than on difficulties encountered looking back.

Brandt thanked Compton for his offer but declined to accept it. “This case unfortunately is about what’s happened in the past,” he said.

Members accordingly voted 3-0 to take under advisement a set of proposed findings drafted by Associate Town Attorney Chuck Lukmann, then instructed staff to calculate the amount of time, and the cost of that time, devoted since November to enforcing the stormwater quality control ordinance.

The purpose of a fine is not punitive, Brandt told Glenn and Compton. “We don’t want to punish. We want compliance. And we’ve spent extra money getting compliance.”

Posted 2/1/2008