The Burns Harbor Advisory Plan Commission entered into an unusual agreement with developers Don Coker and Dick Davis in return for the commission lifting a stop-work order on their Harbor Trails subdivision.

A new-construction building ban has been in place at the Salt Creek Road subdivision for several months.

With Coker attending Monday’s meeting, after an extended discussion it was agreed that while the stop-work order will be lifted, the subdivision infrastructure won’t be recommended for acceptance by the Town Council for maintenance just yet.

Furthermore, $30,000 will be due from developers in November and the town will take a mortgage on five unsold subdivision lots, pending having clean title to them, in lieu of Coker posting a $78,000 maintenance bond. Once that full amount is on deposit, the town’s mortgage will be released.

Traditionally, security is posted as a letter of credit, certified check or surety bond. “With the economy the way it is, nobody wants to write a bond, no matter who you are,” Coker told the commission.

Building commissioner Bill Arney and town engineer Hesham Khalil said Coker/Davis have made good progress on a final punch list, but some paving remains to be done and there is an undetermined problem with a sanitary sewer.

Commission attorney Charles Parkinson said the town can take a mortgage as security in lieu of a typical maintenance bond, but board members initially were uneasy about doing so. President Jeff Freeze suggested placing the $30,000 on deposit.

Coker said it’s hard to sell any lots to generate cash when a stop-work order’s in effect.

Commission member Cliff Fleming said while there’s still problems at Harbor Trails, the deal struck puts the town in a better position than it was. Added Terry Swanson, “I don’t like it either, but I’d like to see this come to an end somehow.”

Virginia Bain’s position was, “I just don’t like it at all,” but her affirmative vote was needed for official action with Jim Meeks, Jim McGee and Louis Bain absent. When the roll was called, “Against my better judgment, yes,” said V. Bain. “I’ll go with it but if it blows up, I’ll be upset.”

The new town zoning ordinance, adopted in June, is headed for more changes.

The commission scheduled its next meeting for Sept. 1 due to the Labor Day holiday and set public hearings on several zoning additions/changes; final approval will be up to the Town Council.

Among the amendments is adding to the building code that no occupancy permit will be issued for any structure containing a sub-grade basement unless that floor contains a means of egress other than interior stairs.

Special exit windows, some with stairs in a window well to grade above, would satisfy the egress requirement, which was suggested by Arney who is also town fire chief.

Fleming said it would be expensive to install such windows for a basement that isn’t used as a living space, but Arney said some homeowners improve basements without getting a building permit so town officials don’t always know if a basement is occupied, especially as a bedroom.

Other ordinance changes deal with having a surety bond or letter of credit to assure the completion of required landscaping, and including the cost of landscaping for common areas within any subdivision in its posted infrastructure guarantee.

Also, all park land dedicated to the town shall be graded and seeded prior to acceptance by the town. Commission secretary Toni Biancardi said there are errors in the building fees that need to be corrected, and the public hearing will include some fee increases.

The $50,000 downtown district plan adopted in June doesn’t contain standards for how buildings there should be constructed, so to avoid pole-barn retail units the commission is reviewing facade language from other cities including LaPorte.

Freeze said he’d like to see the downtown building standards applied to the general U.S. 20 corridor as well, but he questioned whether the commission could draft facade requirements on its own.

Fleming, president of the town Redevelopment Commission, said that at its 6 p.m. Aug. 12 meeting a grant application to the Lake Michigan Coastal Program will be discussed to hire someone to help the town draft design standards and launch its intended downtown development.

LMCP gave the town a previous $100,000 grant used to draft a new comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance.

Khalil said having facade standards is attractive to developers so they know the ground rules; Fleming said such requirements put developers on an equal footing.

The commission also agreed to review two sections of its new zoning ordinance that Biancardi said conflict when it comes to cellular communications towers.

At issue is whether a use variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals or a special exception reviewed by both the Plan Commission and BZA should be required. Parkinson recommended keeping the latter.

Fleming said at a conference in Florida last week, speakers cited Burns Harbor three times as an example of where affordable, environmentally responsible “green” housing can be found.

Posted 8/4/2009