By KEVIN NEVERS

Some builders in the Town of Chesterton recently have been indulging in the troubling practice of pouring foundation walls taller than permitted under Town Standards and as shown by their approved site plans.

The result, or at the least the potential result: houses in a neighborhood are built at progressively higher grades, since no one wants to live in a home built at a lower grade than his neighbor’s.

Of course, in such a neighborhood stormwater runoff inevitably ends up draining onto the properties of those who built first.

At its meeting Monday night, the Town Council took a step to putting an end to this practice, by enacting an ordinance and revising a Town Standard both of which are calculated to make builders more accountable for their work.

Under the revised Town Standard, which members approved by a vote of 5-0, builders must submit to the Building Department, prior to the pre-pour foundation walls inspection, a written document signed and sealed by a registered Indiana land survey certifying the footing elevation.

Maximum elevations under the Town Standard:

•For a finished building floor, in a residence with an attached garage or a detached garage, the top of the foundation wall may measure no taller than 24 inches above the curb or road edge of the pavement as measured at the center of the driveway.

•In an exception, in a bi-level or raised ranch with an attached garage, the top of the foundation wall may measure no more than 48 inches above the curb or road edge.

•Parcels or lots with pre-existing ground contours higher than 18 inches will be evaluated by staff on a case-by-case basis prior to approval to determine whether construction will adversely affect drainage in surrounding areas.

Under the new ordinance–which members approved unanimously on first reading and, after suspending the rules, unanimously on final reading–builders must submit to the Building Department, prior to the issuance of an occupancy permit, an as-built site plan drawing signed and seal by a registered Indiana land surveyor, which must include buildings layouts, infrastructure, top of the footing elevation, top of the foundation walls elevation, finished garage floor elevation, final grading elevations for the parcel and extending at least 20 feet into surrounding parcels, and drainage flow arrows.

Also under the new ordinance, prior to the issue of an occupancy permit, the parkway area between the curb edge of the road pavement and the sidewalk, must be sodded. If the lot does not have a parkway area, then no less than eight feet of sod must be placed between the curb edge of the road pavement and the building.

Posted 6/27/2007