04-25-05 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING APRIL 25,2005 regarding landscaping, lighting, signs, appearance of yards, and building set backs, parking, architecture, or maximum building heights. In addition, the Executive Director could determine the need for rezoning requests for use not planned for in the Preliminary Plan. This open policy is for the benefit of the developer only. This secure flexibility for them to replace less profitable types of development with more profitable types of development regardless of the overall impact to the Community. Proposed residential buffers have been described by Holladay as fifty (50) feet in depth. Consisting of trail grasses and prairie plants with adjacent ornamental and deciduous trees along with evergreen trees. Mr. Videkovich, Staff Member, Area Plan Commission stated at the March 16, 2005 meeting “that this property if properly screened and buffered may increase the area property values as future development may be come more likely.” If a commercial Hotel use is allowed to be piggyback onto commercial or light industrial use then may the association expect to see the hotel areas being filled with semi-trucks and trailer rigs? Two semi-trucks loaded with steel had been perpetually parked on a City street, on Dillon Drive in an adjacent industrial park until finally being reported to Code Enforcement. Remarks like “reasonable efforts will be made” do little to assure preservation of the Historic Portage Prairie remnants with some of the oldest trees in the County on it. Alternate development standards would undermine any assurance of the quality of what type of development this would become over the course of ten (10) to fifteen (15) years. Holladay Properties mentioned employment possibilities and it makes one wonder that in 100 offices across the United States that Holladay occupies they only employ 235 employees. That’s about 2.3 employees per office and that does not impress the association as being a fact to be proud of. Underutilized space still present even after ten (10) years after development. The lack of landscaping is unappealing to both complex businesses and area residents. The German Township Neighborhood Associates believes that the retail and services needs of the residents of the City and County could be better served closer to the core city with support of its streets. The overall cost to taxpayers and City services an other infrastructure is not justified by the overall profit to developers and taxation return. As outlined by Notre Dame Professor of Finance, Richard Sheehan in his excellent study tax revenues would not compensate for cost of repaying bonds, additional costs of services including roads and interchanges and the desertion of core business and would negatively impact out tax base. Many of the jobs created would reflect those as a transfer effect from businesses moving out from other closings of businesses. Mr. Magliozzi, Assistant Director of Community Development Division noted in a South Bend Tribune article March 29, 2005 that it is “too soon accurately forecast the City’s revenues and expenses related to the annexation. He credits the lack of details to the developer. Ms. Bieschke stated that she checked that information today again with Mr. Magliozzi and that information is still currently true. Ms. Bieschke stated that she wished that by now some of the City Planner’s including Mr. Magliozzi would have taken the opportunity to study the information researched and reported by Professor Sheehan. In closing, Ms. Bieschke advised that if you look at the outcome of previous development, the impact on residential properties would most definitely be a negative one. Let’s not discourage the healthy residential growth in our Northwest Township by the threat of turning neighborhoods into industrial havens. Ms. Bieschke urged the Council to vote for the investment of the County’s biggest tax revenue source its homeowners.