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Lake Development Issues

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Coves pier hearing draws crowd
Lake residents voice objections to plan

HYPERLINK "mailto:yvonnep@kpcnews.net"By Yvonne Paske-Schroeder


LAKE JAMES — Indiana Department of Natural Resources officials could give no timeframe for their response to around 200 verbal or written objections made by local citizens Monday to an application by The Coves of Lake James developers for group piers to serve offshore condominium owners.

Robert Scott, a DNR environmental scientist and a member of the administrative staff for the project, mediated the DNR hearing in which local citizens voiced their opinions to an application made by developer Gregg Walbridge for five 4-by-80-foot piers proposed for Lot 1, Eli’s Point on Lake James’ second basin. His application specifies the piers would serve condominium owners a quarter-mile away on C.R. 300W.

IDNR judge Sandra Jensen already ruled against the piers under the Department of Water’s general licensing, calling them in another configuration too long and numerous in comparison to those surrounding them. Also, LaGrange Circuit Court Judge Roger Probst last month upheld the Steuben County BZA in its notice of violation of county ordinances in regard to the piers.

However, Walbridge’s spokesperson, Steve Snyder, said those decisions were unrelated to this new application.

“This has nothing to do with Judge Sandra Jensen’s decision,” he said. “This is a separate application and bears no relationship to that. Due process in the prior application does not apply here. When things change, new applications are filed, and that’s what’s going on here.”

He also said Probst’s decision held no weight in regard to the new application. “Judge Probst decided this is a marina,” he said. “The application here is for a group pier for condominiums, not a marina as defined by Steuben County ordinances.”

He said the project does qualify as a group pier under state code. He said the group pier designation is new and has no adopted standards, but that those with projects like The Coves must apply because the other pier application is not appropriate.

“Comments I’m hearing are “we don’t want this, but it’s up to the DNR to merely look at the pier aspect and nothing else,” Snyder said. “The DNR requires due process and group input before making a decision.”

Many local citizens arguing against the piers gave reasons like those of Lake James resident Tom Hazelett. Hazelett said the original special exception granted by the county for the project did not include lake access. He said the new pier application states the applicant is not relieved of his responsibility to secure easements and other property rights. He pointed to Probst’s decision as reason to deny the piers, and said five piers attached to a single-family home is unusual for the lake.

He said the project should be required to seek a special exception to operate as a marina as required by county ordinances.

Lake James resident Bill Schmidt backed up Hazelett’s reasoning. He said he participated in a summer-long project to count boats at piers on the lake, and that no single-family home has over two piers. “Five piers on one lot is atypical in the area and on the lake,” he said. He, along with others, claimed the developer has exaggerated the figure of 240 feet of lakefront on the lot. County ordinance determines how many back lot residents can access the lake through a formula based on lakefront footage.

Lake James resident Mel Hathaway works and lives in Zanesville, Ohio, and said he and his wife sacrificed a day and a half of work to attend the hearing because of concern for the piers’ impact to their Eli’s Point property. A biologist and retired professor, he said he feared for the future of Lake James’s few remaining wetlands.

He said the piers would depreciate the esthetic value of the area and disrupt plant and animal life by disturbing ecological food webs. He cited funneling, the use of a private lake road for access and parking issues in the neighborhood as other concerns.

Pete Hippensteel of the Steuben Lakes Council said the lot encompasses only 216 lakefront feet, and that the number of piers for the area would leave only 10 feet for docking and turning around.

Scott said the comments from Monday’s meeting will be assembled and sent to representatives of the DNR’s divisions of Fish and Wildlife, Law Enforcement and Outdoor Recreation and its Department of Natural Preservation for analysis. The four divisions will then submit comments to the Division of Water to consider in the permitting process. He gave no timeline for the process

 
Thursday, December 08, 2005

Steuben planners OK 2 new subdivisions

By YVONNE PASKE-SCHROEDER


ANGOLA — The Steuben County Plan Commission unanimously granted primary plat approval to two new subdivisions Wednesday.

Dale Feick’s Cottages of Feick’s Point at the intersection of Bay View Road and Lane 345 Lake James was approved after Feick returned with a redesigned plan for the commission’s approval two months ago.

Those changes included eliminating multiple family dwellings across Bay View Road and reducing the plan to 12 single-family dwellings. Feick also turned the management of the development’s wetlands over to Blue Heron Ministries, a nature conservancy.

Rene Schiemann of the Lakes Advisory Board said the board appreciated Feick’s changes. “He has proven to us and other lake residents he is concerned about the quality of the lakes and the environment,” she said in advising the commission to give primary approval.

She questioned the protection of 1.5 acres of wetlands not placed in conservancy, and a common green space running along Bay View Road as an easement for lots 21-24.

Feick said the area along Bay View Road will be managed by Blue Heron Ministries as an oak savannah, and will provide an area for one dock for each of four houses across the street.

Phil Meyers, speaking for developers Roger and Mary Jane Gundy, met with similar success from the commission. Unanimous primary plat approval was given to section 3 of Water’s Edge Place, a 27-lot subdivision near the intersection of C.R. 225W and Bay View Road.

The developers had originally asked for villas which spread across two lots, but the commission turned down the proposal. The plan now calls for individual lots with single-family homes.

Meyers said these developers, too, will dedicate wetlands to a conservancy and will create walking paths among them for the esthetic enjoyment of the residents. Sewer service will be provided by the Steuben Lakes Regional Waste District, and the developers will supply a drainage plan to the county drainage board for approval.

The plat will be written to include no deeded lake access for the lots. Schiemann, speaking for the Lakes Advisory Board, approved the plan on the condition the entrance intersection meets the county highway superintendent’s approval and that the subdivision provides no deeded lake access.

When Steuben County Plan Director Mark Sanborn requested a secondary plat approval because he had not yet received a highway engineering report for the project, the commission unanimously granted primary approval on the condition the engineering report is supplied for a secondary plat approval and that the subdivision provides no lake access.

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Docksiders to experience downs, ups

By YVONNE PASKE-SCHROEDER

LAKE JAMES — Until he pins down a replacement, developer Mike Leckner will use the name “Docksiders” for a lodge and marina he hopes to create on the site of the present restaurant-bar of the same name on Lake James’ first basin.

However, before the restaurant on North Bayview Road comes down and construction can begin on the 20-room structure geared to resemble lodges in other lake and ski resorts, Leckner must take his proposal before the Steuben County Plan Commission Wednesday.

The commission and Steuben County Plan Director Mark Sanborn will then consider whether or not to grant Leckner exceptions to build the lodge and a marina in a lake residential zoning district.

The lodge, which he described as “high end,” will offer features not readily available in the immediate Steuben County area. Guests will enjoy a common lobby with indoor-outdoor fireplace, an outdoor common area for taking in the scenery and a hot tub area.

“We’ll use lots of stone and cedar, like a ski lodge. That’s the look we’re going for,” Leckner said. The plan incorporates the maximum units allowed by county ordinance for a lodge.

Rooms will average 700-800 square feet, ranging in style from an efficiency type to suites. Some may contain kitchenettes, and all will have patios or decks.

The lodge will contain no restaurant or bar, but may offer a continental breakfast.

The lodge plan will thin the congestion of docks now clustered in front of the restaurant. “There were around 70 last year, and now there will only be docks for the lodge guests,” Leckner said. He estimated the number at 35.

The lodge will probably offer boat or jet ski rentals in the summer and snowmobile rentals in the winter.

Leckner feels the plan fits the area well, and mitigates some problems experienced there in the past.

While exceptions will only be sought for tract B, the site of the Docksiders building, Leckner owns all of tract C in the area’s southeast corner, and part of tract A to the north, which holds a pavilion for Waters Edge residents and a boat ramp with easement access for residents of Whisper Bay condominiums across Bayview Road. Leckner’s docks attached to tract A will be for public rental.

Tract C will see use for overflow parking to benefit his interests in tracts A and B, Leckner said. A lack of parking space has plagued the Docksiders location in the past, and this will eliminate problems there.

In addition, devoting the tract to parking keeps down the area’s concentration of structures. “With C as overflow parking rather than other structures, I would think it’s a much better option, view-wise, for Whisper Bay,” he said.

While he has single- and multiple-family dwelling developments in the works at various other lake locations, Leckner feels the lodge plan works into this neighborhood better. “To put single-family dwellings or condos between two docking facilities is not consistent with a good neighborhood environment,” he said. “There’s been trouble with that in the past, and this idea is better suited for the site.”

The closing of Docksiders late last summer followed a series of such shut-downs in the past, and Leckner feels it’s time for a change there. “Everyone loves the idea of getting in a boat and going out to eat, but the last 11 restauranteurs have not been able to keep the doors open. It does the lake no justice having businesses fail,” he said.

He thinks the lodge will fill a necessary niche, providing week-by-week rentals in the summer and year-round availability for visiting guests and business contacts. The lodge can also be rented by groups.

Since the site earned a special exception for the construction of a restaurant years ago, Leckner hopes the lodge special exception will be granted in a sort of “trade-out,” since the lodge will contain no restaurant. “I think it’s a great fit” for the area, he said.

With no height, setback or lot coverage variances needed, Leckner hopes to acquire a favorable recommendation from the plan commission Wednesday and then the special exceptions from the board of zoning appeals the following Monday. Both meetings are at 7 p.m. in the Steuben Community Center multi-purpose room.

Thursday, September 16, 2004

Group pier definition would give DNR another tool to protect lakes


As the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Legislature work on issues regarding lake access, we should see better protection of our inland lake resources.

Currently the DNR is working on defining what constitutes a group pier, thanks in part to activity in Steuben County. Often what starts out as a local issue in Steuben County becomes a state issue, when it comes to inland lakes. Piers are currently the hot topic. And group piers are clearly in the regulatory sights of the DNR.

We doubt that few would argue in favor of continued dock encroachment into the lakes of Indiana, especially those that are considered group piers. We have seen group piers, as they are currently being called, come and go in Steuben County. A large group pier has existed for nearly two decades at The Landings condminiums at Lake James' third basin. The DNR itself operates what would be considered group piers at Pokagon State Park. The Sowles Bay Yacht Club, Docksiders, The Boathouse and Northwest Landing all opeate for-profit ventures on Lake James for the purpose of providing dock space.

There currently is controversy over the installation of a group pier at the 55-unit Coves of Lake James condominium project. These docks just around the bend from the so-called "Narrows" on Lake James have all but sat unused all summer, steeped in controversy.

The DNR for years has required permits for docks that go beyond those that would typically come with riparian property rights. We saw one such request, at Lake Gage, get denied a few years back. Though few people were talking about the use of docks for funneling around the turn of this century, that's exactly what would have happened. Numerous people from an off-lake development would have had access to Gage through this long dock containing many slips. Common sense prevailed.

It would appear that the DNR is trying to fine tune the definition of a group pier and get a better handle on the regulation of these structures.

Technically, any pier placed in the lake could require a permit. Right now, only in special instances does the DNR require permits. Having the proper tool, the DNR could do a better job at protecting the lakes from over development. We currently have lakes that are like concrete bathtubs due to the seawalls that have been built around them and thus ruining the natural shoreline. We certainly don't need so many piers that our lakes resemble the masses of television antennae we used to see protruding from city rooftops.

WED 1-11-2006
(ANGOLA) - A public hearing has been scheduled by the Steuben County Commissioners for January 25th on a petition that has been filed which objects to a recent increase in sewer rates for customers in the Steuben Lakes Regional Waste District. The Waste District Board of Trustees on December 8th approved a rate increase that was recommended by H.J. Umbaugh and Associates as a way to pay off the last $3.5 million for the districts sewer project. The project came in $9 million over budget and the district has already made numerous cost cutting measures. The monthly rates for average homeowners went scheduled to go up from $59.95 in 2005 to $66.10 starting at the first of this year. The monthly rate in 2007 would go up to $69.40 and $72.15 in 2008. A group called "Concerned Citizens with Broken Up Septic Systems" has been collecting signatures on petitions from district residents who object to the rate hike. Group coordinator George Pifer says they collected over 500 signatures and he says they could have gotten more if summertime residents were still around. District Superintendent Tim Frederick has said they had no other choice but to raise rates. The public hearing on the 25th will start at 8:30 a.m.. During the hearing, evidence will be heard and the Commissioners will decide if the rate increase is

THE LATEST FROM WLKI NEWS..
WED 1-25-2006
(ANGOLA) - Opponents of a rate hike that was recently passed by the Steuben Lakes Regional Waste District got some help from Steuben County Commissioners this morning. At the end of a public hearing on the rate increases, Commissioners determined they were not just or equitable under Indiana law. The rate increase was passed last month by the Waste District Board of Trustees as a way to cover a $3.5 million shortfall in the districts sewer project. The rate ordinance was passed following a recommendation from Umbaugh and Associates. A group called "Concerned Citizens with Broken Up Septic Systems" challenged the increase by collecting over 500 signatures on remonstrance petitions. After hearing arguments from both sides this morning, Commissioner Ron Smith made the motion to side with the petitioners objections. Following the Commissioners action, the Waste District now has the right to appeal the decision in Steuben County Circuit Court in the same manner that other civil cases may be appealed.

Steuben County Regional Waste District

Sewer hearing slated
Public can give input on lake area sewer district rates

By Yvonne Paske-Schroeder


ANGOLA — Those concerned with the rate they pay for service from the Steuben Lakes Regional Waste District will have a chance to speak to the issue during a public hearing Thursday, Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. at the district’s offices at 8119 W. C.R. 150N near Flint.

At that time, public input will be taken on a proposed rate increase from the current $59.95 per single-family dwelling to an approximate $72 per month. In spite of the district board’s efforts to trim costs from its over-budget sewer project, customer rates will increase to allow the board to pay the project off.

The board instituted many cost-cutting measures, including the sharing of grinder pumps and negotiating change orders, when the project came in around $9 million over budget.

However, with the project substantially completed, $3.5 million remains to be paid, and another $1.6 million debt remains in question, said John Julien of Umbaugh and Associates, the board’s Plymouth accounting firm.

“Even though (costs) were negotiated down, certain events caused changes that pushed costs up,” Julien said after the rate hike discussion at the district board’s last meeting. “Original cost-cutting measures cut the $9 million down, but to complete its obligations, the district needs $3.5 million.”

In order to borrow, the district must show the ability to pay the loan back, and therefore needs to adjust the customer rate for more income, Julien said.

If many people wish to speak at the hearing, a time limit of 3-5 minutes per speaker will likely be imposed as in the past, said district employee Lisa Hankey. Those wishing to speak will be required to sign in, she said

Friday, December 09, 2005

Lake area sewer rate hike approve

By Yvonne Paske-Schroeder


ANGOLA — The Steuben Lakes Regional Waste District board amended an ordinance Thursday, raising the rates for customers of its new sewer system.

The amended rate hike was passed at a meeting following an hour-long public hearing, where about 150 Steuben Lakes Regional Waste District customers and gathered in the Dale Hughes Auditorium to air concerns.

The rate hike will be introduced in four phases. Class II single-family

homeowners now pay just under $60 a month for sewer service through the district. The ordinance puts that payment at $66.10 from now through Dec. 31, 2006. From that date through Dec. 31, 2007, they will pay $69.40. At the end of 2007 through Dec. 31, 2013, they will pay $72.15. In 2014, those customers will begin paying $79.55.

Concerns centered on a perceived inequity in a reduced connection fee for customers in the Lone Tree Point area of Lake James, who have been district customers for 15 years or so. Those homeowners paid $1,000 to connect with the system, while new customers paid $2,500.

Others saw the reduced monthly rate paid by condominium and trailer park residents as unfair. The group also universally agreed the rate hike should be reversed after the repayment of loans to complete the sewer project. The need for the loans prompted the rate increase.

George Pifer lives near Crooked Lake and questioned the legality of the board’s 10 percent rate increase. He cited Indiana code 13-26 on equitable rates, which limits an annual utility increase to 5 percent. He also claimed the board sacrificed $1.5 million by allowing the 1,000 Lone Tree Point people to pay $1,000 to connect rather than $2,500.

Lyndon Tucker of Angola questioned whether any board member benefited from the reduced Lone Tree Point rate. Board president Dave Boudia said no board member has ever accepted any special favor. Others demanded to know to whom board members are accountable for decisions and finances. Early in the presentation, Boudia told the crowd the board is governed by the state Sunshine Acts and audited by the State Board of Accounts.

Attorney John Wernet told questioners that board members are appointed by their township trustees, not elected by the public.

John Julien of H.J. Umbaugh and Associates of Plymouth, the board’s accountant, answered some financial questions. In answer to Pifer’s query, Julien responded that Indiana code allows a 5 percent annual increase, and since the last increase occurred in 2003, the elapsed two years allowed the 10 percent hike.

On the lower condominium and trailer park rate, Julien said of the four components of the monthly sewer bill, two — the monthly billing fee and the sewage treatment charge — are the same for everyone. The areas of higher residential concentration pay only part of the rate charged for the collection system and debt service, because the district invested less in infrastructure to manage their wastewater. Since the district paid less and owed less on their lines and pumps, the rate is reduced, he said.

In regard to those who share grinder pumps, he said the district can’t

bill individually for customers’ sewer equipment, because to do so would mean those close to the plant would pay little and those far from the plant would pay much more, resulting in 3,500 different rates.

“We can’t do that,” he said.

To Mike Zdyb’s question about the rate formula used, Julien said state statutes provide a framework, so more than one formula can exist. However, “This is what we’ve used for 35 years, and it is in hundreds of Indiana communities,” he said.

The wastewater collection system encompasses much of the Steuben County lakes region.

The rate hike affects those classified by the ordinance as Class II users. The Class II user designation encompasses property owners not in the Lone Tree Point area of Lake James and Antrup and Beerman field service areas, who are Class I users, or in the area served by North Snow Bay Environmental Enhancement, the area of Class III users.

The sewer project came in $9 over budget, and after cost-cutting measures taken by the board, loans of $3.5 million and $1.6 million are still needed to retire the debt on the system. To borrow the money, the district must raise rates to show enough income to pay off the debt.

To begin the borrowing process, the board suspended the rules and adopted on first reading an ordinance for the issuance of $3.5 million and $1.6 million bonds immediately through bid or negotiation. Interest could range from 3.5-5.4 percent on the bond issue, said a representative of Hilliard Lyons, which the board approved as underwriter at a cost of 1.5 percent of the bond. The board also named Ice Miller of Indianapolis its bond counsel for a fee ranging from $25,000-$30,000.

The SLRWD is in the process of assuming maintenance for the sewer system of North Snow Bay Environmental Enhancement. The wastewater will be treated by the Fremont plant, after the SLRWD reaches an interlocal agreement with the town. When the board takes the system over, those Class III customers will pay $47.77 per single family residence.

The board also approved sending an application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development for the addition of the town of Orland and Wall and Brown lakes to the district’s service area. Details on the contract with project engineer Jim Russell remain to be ironed out, said district superintendent Tim Frederick.

Board members discussed options on the sale of the district’s old office and septic fields. Frederick has received appraisals for all but two of the fields, and told the board appraisals came in lower than expected. Some members wish to lease out the old office building, while others wish to make a cash sale.

Bret Caryle of the firm Carson Boxberger, the district’s legal counsel, said state code allows the district to dispose of the land by private sale.

A public auction or taking bids for the sale were suggested. The board tabled the topic for further review.

In a project update, the board unanimously agreed that Niblock, the contractor in the project’s division A2, has reached substantial project completion.

The board set meetings in 2006 at 6 p.m. on the first Thursday following the first Monday of each month at the district offices near Flint. With board president Dave Boudia and board member Steve Fribley retiring, the board elected Bill Heckley president, Jack Bledsoe vice president and Jim Kidd secretary. Board member Scott Miller recently resigned.

Fribley and Boudia were recognized for 6 and 17 years of service to the board, respectively, and Boudia accepted a plaque of appreciation after presiding at his last meeting.
 

The Lake James Association would like to keep you informed about a recent development.  This letter was penned for the Plan Commission meeting that now has taken place.  Find out more about this subject by linking to the news stories on this site.
 

Background
 

·        The Coves of Lake James is a 55-unit condominium project located in Gray’s Landing and approved by the county plan commission in 2001.  The project was approved without lake access. The developer of the project is Southwest Development Ltd., which is just now starting to build.
 

·        Southwest Development has purchased through intermediaries private residential lots in Gray’s Landing and Lot 1 on Eli’s Point for the apparent purpose of establishing a 38-slip marina for the condominium project. The Coves was approved without lake access and marinas are not permitted without a special exception in the Lake Residence zoning district.
 

·        The developer says that county zoning regulations do not apply to his marina.   He can  build his marina without local approval or any input from the neighbors.
 

·        In its attempt to take control of this situation the plan commission is asking the county commissioners to bolster the zoning ordinance’s definition of “marina.” Their purpose is to make it clear that the 38-slip facility at Eli’s Point is a marina under the zoning ordinance and is subject to a special exception public hearing in front of the county board of zoning appeals before it can be established. 
 

·        Not surprisingly, the developer is opposed to changing the definition of “marina” and his lawyers are challenging it in front of the county commissioners this Thursday.

Objections To The Project

1.       The developer is effectively expanding The Coves of Lake James project        without any public input whatsoever.
 

2.       This is a deliberate end-run around the county’s anti-funneling regulations.
 

3.       The developer wants to install a marina on a residential lot in a residential neighborhood and on a private drive without any accountability to the neighbors.
 

4.       It establishes an undesirable precedent for future lake development. Zoning regulations exist for the protection of the public interest, not the private interest, and they enhance property values. Allowing lake development without control by the zoning ordinance threatens to seriously degrade the quality of life for lake residents and reduce property values.
 

What You Can Do
*           Call or write your county commissioner asking him to vote yes on changing the definition of “marina.”*
*            Write a letter to the editor letting everyone know what your thoughts are on the developer’s intentions. Is this a good neighbor project?
*   Get your friends and neighbors to act as well.
*   Most important of all: Attend the County Commissioners meeting this Thursday (2nd floor, Steuben Community Center [old high school]).