11-27-06 Council Meeting Minutes

Home Browse Search

REGULAR MEETINGNOVEMBER 27, 2006 that the remonstrators, how many you might have, have a total of 30 minutes for this. So again, to Mr. Weber, if there is anything additional that you would want to state, you have that opportunity to do so. She noted that President Rouse stated that the Council made the commitment to the remonstrators. Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski- Farrand reiterated that the time is running, it is now 8:15 p.m., and that the remonstrators will have until 8:37 p.m., she asked that the Clock start back up. Mr. Weber stated that he just has one more item, and then he will turn it over to Mr. Wertenberger. Mr. Weber indicated that Mr. Troyer stated that they wanted to pay city taxes on that land. Mr. Weber stated that he has one question that has been bothering him for quite awhile. How can the city put in a lift station? Who paid for the City to put that lift station in there? It is maintained by the City, it is on County property and what kind of taxes are being paid on that. Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand stated that all questions will be in answered during the rebuttal period. Mr. Michael Wertenberger, 61480 Miami Road, South Bend, Indiana, spoke in opposition to this bill. Mr. Wertenberger advised that they are not against the 55 acres being annexed, they are against the rezoning. There are three issues: 1. Rezoning 2. Traffic, where the development is coming out of. 3. The flooding. The annexation is fine, they know that it is going to happen sooner or later, so they are not objecting to that.It is the size of the lots that they want to put 400 square feet for one lot, that is just too small, you are downsizing everything from what you have above, two-family dwellings, two units 6,000 square feet. Lots larger than 6,000 square may contain more than one dwelling. They would like to stay with SF-1 Single Family Dwellings and forget the PUD. The lots th would be 1/10 of an acre and they are going to put these homes on lots of that small size. The neighbors are just asking for a fair shake in this deal, where are the architectural standards in this development. The Area Plan Commission states that rezonings should not have a negative impact on land values, public health or safety. That is what the neighbors are looking for, the petitioner has not made a convincing argument on this project. Traffic speed at the corner of Kern Road and Miami Road is 40 miles per hour; this is a school bus route also. In the opposite direction, going south on Miami, once you cross Roosevelt Road, the speed limit becomes 55 miles per hour. These people do not slow down to the 40 miles per hour once they cross that intersection when they are coming north, because he witnesses this everyday, because he lives on Miami Road. There is a hill or pitch on Miami Road where the entrance/exit for this development is going to be. People will be trying to pull out of the development with their sight being hindered by the hill and traffic coming at them at 55 + miles per hour. Mr. Wertenberger stated that he would like to see a continuation of Orchard Heights Road across Miami and put the entrance there. Mr. Wertenberger stated that he asked Mr. Troyer to do this and he responded that they do not own the property. Mr. Wertenberger stated that Mr. Troyer sold the property to Greencroft and there is no reason that they cannot buy that strip of land back to put the road in on that side. This would allow for a four-way stop if needed to slow the traffic down. Mr. Wertenberger questioned the three-pipe outlet in a retention/detention pond, he stated why would you put three pipes in that location? The developer knew that it would overflow. There are times when the water flows up over Miami Road. Cars coming either north or south on Miami Road hydroplane and land in people’s front yards. There is a 54 inch tile that is coming from Southfield North that was opened up and it is draining all the rain water from the north that is running off from the north into this 54 inch tile and draining down into this retention pond. They proposed to build more homes and shove that drain water into the retention pond. There is a problem now and they are going to continue to dump more water in there without resolving it. For six years they have tried to get this problem resolved. Mr. Wertenberger stated that Mr. Troyer mentioned this afternoon that he felt hostage, the property owners have been hostage for six years themselves. The flooding is a problem, now we have their attention. Just fix the flooding problem, before they do anything else. This idea of studying and surveying it doesn’t cut it, because they have been studying it for six years. Time has come to deal with it. 17