June 08, 2004

Indiana Law - More interesting reports dealing with real estate

Again today (for yesterday's, scroll down about 10 entries) there are two interesting real estate stories, this time both set in NW Indiana's Porter County.

First is this story in the Munster Times headlined "City wants developer to specify green space: Portage planners table vote on Sterling Creek Park." Somequotes:

PORTAGE -- Sterling Creek Park hit another stumbling block Monday night when the Plan Commission told developers they needed specific plans for open space instead of vague guarantees to include recreational space in the 120-acre planned unit development

"If you guys don't even specify where the green space is, what's going to stop you from giving us a strip of green space along the side of a road?" Plan Commission President Bill Walton asked. "As it's written in this first 25 acres, you could put in house after house and never put a park in." * * *

During Monday's discussion, Director of Community Development A.J. Monroe said the city's ordinance regarding planned unit developments requires legal definitions of how much continuous green space will be set aside and where it will be located. The Sterling Creek included neither. * * *

Attorney Todd Etzler, who represents the developer, said Sterling Creek's individual development phases could be affected by specifying the green space ahead of time. But Walton pointed to Coffee Creek and Aberdeen, two other Porter County planned developments that set aside recreational land and built up around it.

Second is this story, also in the Times, headlined "Proposed zoning change draws builders' ire: Porter County plan would require 20 percent of development to be left as open space." The story begins:
VALPARAISO -- Area builders claim a proposed Porter County zoning change requiring them to leave 20 percent of a subdivision undeveloped would illegally strip them of their property without compensation.

The proposal before the county plan commission would affect developments of 15 acres or more that are connected to municipal utilities, and those 30 acres or more operating on well and septic systems.

The plan commission is scheduled to take up the issue during a public hearing Wednesday, presumably amid a strong show of opposition from developers.

Posted by Marcia Oddi at June 8, 2004 03:21 PM