By PAULENE POPARAD

There was unanimous opposition during a Wednesday public hearing before the town of Porter Plan Commission over a primary plat for eight lots on 4.4 acres to be built on the west side of Hunter’s Glen subdivision at Oak Hill Road and Quail Ridge Drive.

The matter was tabled until May 21 to give developers time to address the concerns raised as well as a list of items town engineer Warren Thiede said are lacking, like sidewalks and additional design on the stormwater plan.

Drainage, whether the lots are served by a public or private road and the proximity of a BP pressurized petroleum pipeline all were cited as reasons by seven remonstrators to deny the C&C Development plat brought by Todd Martin and Royal Church.

BP also will be contacted seeking comment on the subdivision plans, and the pipeline’s exact location was asked to be verified before next month. BP apparently was notified of the public hearing.

Vote was 5-0 to table with member Brenda Brueckheimer absent and member Greg Stinson recusing himself from the commission to step down and remonstrate as an adjoining property owner. Bruce Snyder, its president, remonstrated on behalf of the 46-home Hunter’s Glen Property Owners Association.

C&C Development attorney Brian Hurley said when the original subdivision was platted in 1992 the plat identified Parcel A as future condominiums. In 1993 or 1994 Parcel A was replatted as single-family with eight lots but no homes were built. When Martin/Church acquired the property they were told after their initial attempt to develop Parcel A that it would have to meet current town zoning standards.

That was done, maintained Hurley, and the current plat as proposed nearly mirrors the previous one and the eight lots are even larger than before. He said the controversy over open space on the new Parcel A is non-existent because property owners in the subdivision previously waived their right to remonstrate during the first single-family plat; Snyder disputed that interpretation as to the plat under consideration now.

Stinson showed photos taken yesterday at his home. “In spring and fall it’s a rare day water is not running in my back yard.” Other neighbors have had water up to their deck and the steps of a home in addition to erosion problems, he added. “I question if (C&C Development’s stormwater plan) takes into account how serious the problem is.”

He and other remonstrators said they are not opposed to development of Parcel A but it must be responsible; this plan is not, they stressed. They also rapped Martin/Church for cutting trees down on the wooded land. Hurley said there’s no law against cutting trees on property you own.

Carol Buehler thanked the town for previously repairing a ruptured drain tile that isn’t shown on plats. She asked where the tile behind the houses on Quail Ridge will break next. “Will anybody notice the sinkhole before a curious child does?”

Ginger Potter emphasized her concern over the BP pipeline by displaying a borrowed 6-foot-tall yellow warning marker. She said pipelines can be damaged by excavation or erosion and that Martin/Church didn’t perform due diligence. Developers’ engineer Jeanette Hicks said they are not crossing the pipeline and Hurley said it’s not on Parcel A but all necessary precautions will be taken.

Commission and Town Council member Dave Babcock said it troubled him that Parcel A would be served by a new private road off Quail Ridge. Hurley said only the homeowners building in Parcel A would be assessed for the private road’s maintenance and plowing. Nevertheless, some current Hunter’s Glen residents expressed concern they would be, too.

Also remonstrating were Janet Hooker and Phillip Meyers by letter and Mike Babcock in person. He said the POA should have been contacted, and there’s not enough information provided. “These aren’t questions you can answer ‘I believe’ and ‘should be’.”

Hurley, who said the town doesn’t have jurisdiction over the POA or covenants, explained Porter department heads requested the road be private to save the town money but if the Plan Commission wants it to be public, it can with modifications. Town planner Jim Mandon said the lack of sidewalks didn’t come up during plat review; commission members agreed sidewalks are desired.

Commission and council member Michele Bollinger, who lives in Hunter’s Glen but not near the subject parcel, asked about run-off flowing near the pipeline. Hicks said an existing outlet pipe at the pond will be removed and replaced and the outlet rate be reduced with additional storage.

Overall regarding the project, Thiede said, “The ordinances of the Town have been met in part but not in full.” Commission member Ken Timm and Bell asked if the outstanding issues could be addressed; Thiede said he believes they could.

Hurley, who formerly was legal counsel to the Porter County Plan Commission, said if the drainage plan were so deficient the developers wouldn’t have gotten to a public hearing. Thiede’s comments came after the hearing. Bollinger asked if Martin/Church had experience with a development of similar difficulty; Hurley said the rules would be the same no matter what property is being developed.

Commission member Jim Eriksson, a former county Plan Commission member, expressed frustration over the opposition from Hunter’s Glen to development around it. “If you put one house up there you’d fight him, like the one on Oak Hill Road,” referring to a previous petition for one home across from the subdivision that drew remonstrance.

Eriksson also said he doesn’t doubt there’s a water problem in the area but he’s never heard it was to such a degree until now and questioned how Martin/Church had anything to do with it. If they do what town code requires of them, said Eriksson, then the commission can’t pick and choose where development will go because of which town officials live there.

“I"m not that stupid I’ll sit there and take this,” said Eriksson. “It’s really another phase of Hunter’s Glen is how I look at it.”

In other business, the full commission voted 6-0 to replat Lots 1 and 2 in Porter Riverside subdivision as a single lot of record so Keenan and Christina Comer can tear down their 1939 house and put up a new one at 333 Michigan St. in the downtown area of Porter. No one commented during a public hearing.

Posted 4/17/2008