The Porter Plan
Commission voted 4-2 Wednesday to make a favorable recommendation to the
Town Council for a rezone of a home at 6 Franklin Street.
The planners passed
the recommendation to rezone 6 Franklin Street from single-family
residential to multi-family residential use, with the stipulation that the
existing house on the property can only be made into a duplex. The case will
be forwarded to the Town Council for a final decision.
Dane Jackson, of
Chesterton, sought the rezone after he last year failed to get approval to
rezone 6 Franklin and three adjoining lots behind it that front Rankin
Street. At that time, Jackson planned on converting the home to a duplex and
building two fourplexes on the back lots to create affordable living options
for seniors.
Jackson’s request
failed at the time due in part to concerns about the fourplexes, where he
had planned to make units as small as 400 square feet. Adjacent property
owners also pushed back against the proposal.
The three lots
behind the house are not part of the rezone request approved Wednesday.
Jackson must wait until September to refile to rezone those lots, per a
section of Town code that requires petitioners to let at least one year pass
before renewing a denied rezone request.
Planners Jamie
Spanier and Jim Eriksson cast the two no votes without further comment.
Planner Ken Timm was absent.