By PAULENE POPARAD

Voting 4-0, the Burns Harbor Board of Zoning Appeals gave Pilot Travel Center permission Tuesday to add two diesel fuel lanes and a $2 million four-bay truck service center at 243 Melton Rd. (U.S. 20). The petition has lingered on the BZA and Advisory Plan Commission agendas for months, during which time Pilot filed four lawsuits over the matter.

Dropping the litigation was not a stipulation placed on the approval, but Pilot attorney Michael Back indicated he would talk to BZA attorney Terry Hiestand about the matter, according to BZA Secretary Toni Biancardi, who summarized the meeting today.

The BZA directed Building Commissioner Gene Weibel not to issue an occupancy permit for the truck center until a $150,000 traffic signal and a major traffic-pattern reconfiguration Pilot will finance is completed and functional. This includes closing the east truck entrance, installing a concrete median on U.S. 20 to prevent certain turns into and from the center drive, and widening the west drive to enter and exit at the traffic signal. The Indiana Department of Transpor-tation has approved the traffic plan.

The BZA also directed Pilot to remove an additive tank and a fence, and held firm that the 1998 covenants and conditions approved for the original travel center owner that govern the property will remain in force. Back has maintained the 1998 conditions do not apply to subsequent owners. The reason Plan Commission and BZA approval was needed for the current improvements is because under the 1998 conditions, any expansion has to be reviewed and receive new permission.

Biancardi said because the BZA asked the truck center to be moved more to the north of the parcel, a detention pond may need modification and a three-bay truck center actually may have to be built.

Biancardi also said Back indicated work already had begun on the site changes to accommodate the future traffic signal. Pilot also plans to add Idleaire facilities in the semi-truck parking zone to reduce fuel emissions from idling trucks.

Although some resident opposition to the Pilot expansion was evident initially, only George Castle attended Tuesday’s BZA meeting to raise questions about the detention pond and diesel emissions.

In 1998 town officials were firm that they were approving a travel center, not a truck stop, however, Back maintains the site, which has McDonald’s and Subway restaurants, has been used as a truck stop from the beginning. BZA member William Henning asked Tuesday if Pilot is now to be considered a truck stop. Weibl said the ratio of cars to trucks in the morning is 2 to 1 and cars still exceed trucks in the afternoon. Pilot officials believe the new service center won’t draw more than two additional trucks per hour, said Biancardi.

Voting with Henning to approve the Pilot petition were BZA members Gordon McCormick, Bill Meyer and Terry Swanson. Tom Marconi was absent.

Posted 9/29/2004