Members of the Porter County Plan Commission are continuing to review plans for the 109-acre parcel west of the new Porter hospital development on the northwest corner of U.S. 6 and Ind. 49 in Liberty Township.

The commission Wednesday held a workshop session with representatives of St. Andrews LLC, owner of the parcel.

The informal session was held so that the county planners could have their questions answered by the property’s representatives before taking a vote to rezone portions of the property at a later meeting.

St. Andrews made rezoning requests to the county planners in July and a public hearing was held at that time.

Plan Commission president Robert Harper announced there will be a second public hearing held before an official vote is taken.

Although public comment was not taken during the workshop, about 30 residents showed up at the Porter County Administration Building, most of whom were from Tanner Trace subdivision which closely bounds the site to the west.

Architect Christopher Lannert of The Lannert Group, one of the firms working on plans for the development, quickly recapped the requests. The site will centrally feature a mixed-use medical campus that will include offices for hospital physicians. Forty-one acres have been designated for that part of the parcel which the petitioner hopes to rezone to an Office and Technology district, or OT.

Lannert said the developers are looking to rezone the northern areas as R3 (Two-family Residential) or R4 (Multiple-family Residential). The 27-acre R4 zone will exclusively feature assisted living facilities or retirement communities while 19 acres in the R3 zone will include housing units for seniors in the form of single family homes, duplexes, and multiplexes.

The residencies will be available for purchase and not for lease, the site planners said. They said they plan to submit a written notice asking that the rezoning be restricted only to those types of uses so as not to include properties that would end up being used as apartment complexes.

“That’s exactly what we want on that part of the development,” said attorney Todd Leeth who is representing St. Andrews in the petition.

The request that seems to be prompting the most concern is the southernmost 13.5 acres, which is proposed to become a High Intensity Commercial district (CH) along the road frontage. Planners are seeking to limit the types of businesses that can be developed to either a restaurant or drug store.

The entire site is currently zoned as R1 (Single-family Residential).

Lannert also said the development intends to respect the county’s drainage regulations for Damon Run which runs north of the property.

The elevation difference between the highest and lowest points, Lannert said, is nearly 100-feet. Erosion control features will be added. Catch basins will be placed along the boulevard-style roadway that sweeps through the site, bioswales will treat the middle area, and a retention pond will be placed near the lowest spot on the site, he said.

Plan Commission members raised concerns or suggestions on several issues including calling for:

• A substantial buffer to be implemented especially in the commercial district to uphold the welfare and safety of residents living in the area,

• A plan for drainage management be made up and presented to the county drainage board,

• And a plan for how to manage traffic on the U.S. 6 corridor be drawn up.

Other questions probed the purpose for the R3 and R4 rezonings.

Harper said he could not recall if the county had ever approved a rezoning to R4 and felt that is more suited for cities and towns.

He also asked that more buffer be used in the frontage and signs in the high intensity area be limited in size.

Harper said the commission is “dedicated not to start putting in strip malls.”

Leeth said that the goal of the senior housing would be to provide “a continuum of care” with the hospital. The R4 district is the one district listed in the county’s Unified Development Ordinance that allows both assisted living facilities and senior retirement communities, which is exactly what the developers want, Leeth said.

Commission member Elizabeth Marshall, who voted against plan approval for the new hospital, told Leeth the development will greatly impact those living close to the site and said she has spoken with residents who feel the hospital is “not in the right place.”

“You’re going to change the complexity of that area,” she said.

Leeth responded by saying it must be realized that there is in fact going to be a 225-bed hospital “sitting on that corner” and that the medical campus parcel will relieve a lot of the pressure placed on the county to develop that area from Ind. 49 westward to Meridian Rd.

“It gives an outlet to do things the right way, which we feel is the campus setting,” said Leeth.

Commission member Herb Read asked that the developers further soften the transition areas between adjoining properties, particularly in the commercial district.

He also suggested it would be a good idea to come up with a preliminary plan for managing the water onsite.

Leeth said the developers have not yet submitted a plan but it is not needed in seeking a rezoning.

County Surveyor Kevin Breitzke said the developers must submit water management plans to the drainage board before plats can be approved.

Commission members such as Rick Burns said that lighting pollution is an issue and suggested the use of low lighting. Leeth said they plan to limit the light spillage more than what the current ordinance proposes.

Burns also said the Unified Development Ordinance requires a buffer of at least 40 feet, but asked that it be extended.

Although it was not on the agenda, the commission decided to open a public hearing on a case for St. Andrews to include an additional 3-acre parcel, which currently is a residence, in the commercial district that had not been included in the petition.

The commission did not vote on the matter but got a quick earful from neighboring residents.

Tanner Trace resident Gloria Piette told the Tribune the biggest concern in her neighborhood is the water quality and wanted to know how the development will affect the aquifers.

She worries the oil and runoff from the development will enter into her drinking water.

“This is going to affect our everyday lives,” said Piette.

She said the pond located behind her property has turned a brownish color and contained an oily substance starting in June about the time when the hospital began clearing land.

Piette’s neighbor, Mary Borns, spoke at last week’s county drainage board meeting and said she has always been able to see the fish swimming in the pond until recently when the change occurred.

Both women invited the planners to inspect the pond themselves.

Other public comments questioned how the traffic will affect road safety now that section of U.S. 6 has been proposed to be widened to four lanes.

Tanner Trace residents anticipate they will have to wait for minutes just to enter their subdivision.

Liberty Twp. resident Gerald Hébert said all the rezonings are “in no way shape or form in compliance with the UDO’s requirements” for the surrounding land. Hébert argued what is laid out in the UDO is the law. The UDO lists recommendations for what districts would be appropriate to adjoin a particular zone. For R1, the UDO does not list R4, OT, or CH.

Plan Commission attorney Scott McClure told the Tribune the UDO is in fact the law for the county, but a developer can have a particular parcel rezoned as long as they bring it before the public and have approval from the county, as it is spelled out by state statute.

The Plan Commission voted to put the case on the agenda for October’s regular commission meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 13, where they will again open the public hearing. Leeth said he would need at least 30 days to prepare the case taking into consideration comments from the commission and the public.

Posted 8/26/2010