Shortly after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday the lights flickered several times, then the power went out at the Porter town hall.

The Plan Commission, which was about to start, was canceled and members left, having no idea of the devastation that had occurred just a short distance away.

A scheduled public hearing on an update to the Porter subdivision control ordinance was postponed until Sept. 16.

The town’s Board of Zoning Appeals did meet at 7 p.m., at one point the sky so black outside it appeared to be midnight.

The BZA approved a variance for Paul and Kira Geiss of 2935 Market St. at Porter Beach to build a 25-foot by 10-foot room addition on a non-conforming lot. Vote was 4-1 with member Elka Nelson opposed.

The board majority granted the variance having found the need for one arises from practical difficulty with the property. After the meeting BZA president Henry Huyser said the 0.17-acre size of the parcel was the reason.

Paul Geiss said the addition will not block any view or hinder sight lines or air flow, and won’t violate any setbacks. The couple said they’re cramped for storage space and need more bedrooms because some in the existing home are so small they can’t comfortably be used as such.

Paul Geiss also said the Porter County Health Department determined he does not need to expand the existing septic system because of the addition.

During a public hearing on the petition, no one commented.

On a separate matter the BZA unanimously set Sept. 16 as a public hearing for Ray Cahnman’s application for a variance to replace a deteriorated 6 foot-tall wooden fence with a new one in generally the same location at 3030 Dearborn St.

Cahnman’s attorney, Bob Welsh, said his client would prefer to repair the existing 6-foot fence on the parcel’s east boundary but town building commissioner Art Elwood said it isn’t salvagable. Prior to next month’s hearing town planner Jim Mandon asked for a map of where the existing fence is and where the new one would go.

Welsh said the fence won’t affect anyone who parks on Dearborn Street or is a beneficiary of the Dearborn Street parking association.

“People are parking on Dearborn Street? You’re making it sound like an association,” said Porter director of engineering Matt Keiser.

“It is,” replied Welsh, describing an association that permits parking on lots and in the street right-of-way. “I’m not suggesting anything right or wrong about that.”

Mandon said there would be no purpose for the fence request if it is to screen the parking lot because no license to his knowledge exists to park on Porter right-of-way, especially not just certain members of the public.

Nelson, a Porter Beach resident, said the arrangement has been in place since the 1950s, its members pay for road maintenance, and the parking lot is not the subject of Cahnman’s variance request.

Also Wednesday, the Porter Beach Overlay Committee, of which Nelson is a member, met to hammer out final details regarding new zoning regulations that would apply to future development at Porter Beach in addition to the town’s regular zoning ordinance.

A special meeting for Sept. 1 at 5 p.m. at the town hall was set to review changes to the overlay draft. The Plan Commission eventually will conduct a public hearing, then make a recommendation to the Town Council for a final vote.

Overlay Committee member Keiser suggested the special meeting to get the project back on track. “I thought we were a lot farther along last month. I’m not real happy right now.” The project has dragged on and off for several years but Keiser, newly appointed, has said this time he intends to deliver a final draft.

Generating renewed discussion was fencing, views, minimum lot size, dog runs and maximum lot coverage.

It was noted fences at Porter Beach generally can allow sand to build up on one side creating voids on the other, and that fences can channel runoff; the wrong fencing also can prevent desirable beach-sand renourishment from occuring, and fencing-in yards does not preserve a feeling of open space.

Committee member Jamie Hogan said the overlay needs to address the few residents who put in septic systems about 15 years ago but never built houses on those lots. “For me to be supportive of this (overlay) in the end, I need to know these people with four lots who put in septics are protected.”

Committee member Jerry Sadock said, although it doesn’t seem likely now, some day Porter Beach could be served by sanitary sewers.

Posted 8/20/2009