Two major subdivisions proposed in Liberty Township – The Preserve on C.R. 1050N. and Timberland Farms on Meridian Road -- are on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting of the Porter County Plan Commission.

The plan commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the Porter County Administration Center, Valparaiso.

The first case on the agenda is The Preserve, a 94-lot subdivision proposed by Redfish Development on 89 acres at the southwest corner of 50W and 1050N.

The Preserve was first proposed in late 2005. After a divided plan commission failed to approve the primary plat, the case went to court; the judge determined that the plan commission’s findings of fact – the list of reasons why the plat was denied– were insufficient to either uphold or overturn the plan commission’s decision.

In May of last year, Redfish Development submitted a revised primary plat, but the plan commission decided to have its drainage consulting firm, DLZ, complete its evaluation before going forward. The plan commission also directed Redfish to review drainage calculations prepared by a critic of the development, Alan Hewitt, who is also a member of the Porter County Drainage Board.

Wednesday’s meeting on The Preserve is a continuation of the May, 2007 meeting. No public hearing will be held.

The last case on Wednesday’s agenda will a public hearing on Timberland Farms, a proposed 246 lot development on both sides of Meridian Road and south of the Timberland subdivision.

The plans for Timberland Farms were first outlined last October, when the developers sought a rezoning, from Rural Residential to Residential-1, for one of the parcels involved, a 20-acre parcel on the west side of Meridian and immediately north of Fox Chase Farms. That parcel is proposed to have 61 lots, while another 120 acres on the east side of Meridian is proposed to have 185 lots. The east parcel is already zoned R-1.

The plan commission recommended in support of the rezoning, which was also later approved by the Porter County Commissioners. Since then, Timberland Farms has been before the Porter County Drainage Board and the Board of Zoning Appeals for other necessary approvals.

The development has prompted opposition from residents, including those from the nearby Timberland and Fox Chase Farms subdivisions, who have raised concerns about drainage and more traffic onto Meridian.

On Wednesday, the public will get the chance to comment again, when the plan commission holds a public hearing on the primary plat.

The plan commission’s agenda includes two other items: a development plan review for an addition to a storage business on McCool Road in Portage Township and a Morgan Township resident’s concerns about a neighbor’s garage.

Posted 6/24/2008