Weeds, Sidewalks Top APC Discussions
During its first meeting of 2013, Kosciusko County Area Planning Commission discussed the unusual topic of sidewalks, or the lack thereof, in the Kern’s Crossing subdivision. The meeting was held Feb. 6 in the county commissioners room in the courthouse, Warsaw.
The APC normally doesn’t get involved with the installation of sidewalks in housing developments, said Dan Richard, area planning director. But, he noted, when the plat for Kern’s Crossing was originally approved in 2005, there was considerable discussion about sidewalks being installed due to a request by the town of Syracuse. The subdivision is just southwest of the town limits of Syracuse.
As part of the restrictive covenants for Kern’s Crossing, a deadline was imposed to have all of the sidewalks installed. Attorney Steve Snyder noted the lots have not developed as quickly as planned due to a slow real estate market and the poor economy. “The developer doesn’t want to put in sidewalks until houses are built because the trucks will just damage them during construction anyway,” he said, so the developer asked for a 10-year extension on the time limit to have sidewalks installed.
Out of the 55 lots platted in the subdivision, only about seven or eight have sold, Snyder said.
Roger and Ellamae Haessig were the first couple to buy a house in the subdivision. She said the developer has not honored much of the original contract they signed upon moving in, citing not all of the sidewalks being installed, no children’s playground being built as promised and also prohibiting homes from being rented, which has already occurred.
The Haessigs are concerned about their property value and noted the grass is rarely mowed or little spraying is done to control the weeds. It is difficult for Mrs. Haessig to get around because of the lack of sidewalks. “I feel sidewalks would be a big improvement because people could see something is being done,” Roger said.
In rebuttal, Snyder said within the last five years it has not been unusual for lots to not sell in the county due to the economy. He added it would be a significant expense for the developer to have sidewalks built for approximately 48 lots.
Richard noted sidewalks are normally installed right away in new subdivisions, but in this case there was some negotiation involved. Larry Coplen, APC member, said the economy has negatively affected many housing developments and he can’t justify the expense involved in installing all of the sidewalks.
For a few moments, there was discussion about mowing the grass and spraying for weeds and could the county force either to be done. Snyder said the county can’t legally force either. Dick Kemper, APC member, said “we are not the ‘grass police’” and said the discussion should be focused on sidewalks.
Eventually the APC granted approval for a 10-year extension of the deadline to install sidewalks and to only suggest the developer controls the weeds better. The vote was 8-1 with Chuck Haffner voting against.
In other business, the APC unanimously recommended approval to vacate two platted right of ways in the unincorporated community of Oswego. One is a road right of way that is part of Church Street and the other is an alley connected to the same street.
Snyder said the owner of the properties, Rate of Change LLC, plans to sell four lots to the north of the two right of ways and retain the vacated roads as part of one parcel. County commissioners will consider the petition at their Feb. 26 meeting.
Also during the meeting, the APC heard a brief report from Heather Harwood, executive director of Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation, and Sam Leman, chairman of the WACF board of directors, about proposed changes to the county ordinance governing lake access developments. A few months ago, mainly in response to concerns about the Oakwood development, WACF requested changes be made to the lake access ordinance, implemented a few years ago and commonly referred to as a anti-funneling ordinance.
Leman said there are concerns lakefront properties are “being overdeveloped” and commercial and residential lakefront developments need to be more closely regulated. He said it is important to minimize the impacts of developments on the shoreline as much as possible.
Harwood noted WACF has contacted several lake property owners associations, including Chapman, Winona and others and hopes to meet with Dewart Lake soon to get suggestions.
Richard noted “we are still in the early stages of discussion” about any changes to the ordinance and nothing has been voted on and no public hearings have been held yet. APC members were provided a copy of the proposed changes that include, for example “for any lake access development that includes a retail business, eating or drinking place, or personal service establishment, there shall be a maximum of one watercraft dockage space for every 250 square-feet of service area. Such dockage space shall be a minimum of 270 square-feet in size.”
Snyder said the original intent of the anti-funneling ordinance is to limit offshore properties from supplying pier spaces for lakefront access. “But this further restricts and penalizes lakefront property owners,” he said, saying more work needs to be done to the proposed changes.
No time line has been established for when a public hearing will be held. WACF is still in the process of contacting property owners associations of other lakes.
Also during the APC meeting, Richard briefly noted the technical committee reviewing the development plans for Trupointe just north of Milford was satisfied overall with the company’s plans. Buffering and truck access to the site were two common concerns “but the committee felt they were properly addressed,” he said.
Trupointe plans to minimize truck access off CR 100E and instead bring in trucks from County Line Road.
Statistics for 2012 were provided to the APC. The APC considered only one new subdivision in 2012, the lowest total ever. That number has been in single digits for the last five years. Of particular interest, Richard commented, is for 2012 construction dollars in permits ($55,491,382) ranked 29th out of 38 years the APC has existed when adjusted for inflation.