23 November 2009 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes

23 November 2009 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes

Present: Hall, Chairman, Kraus, Jr., Beiersdorfer, Hornbach, Hoog, Lehman, Nelson, Lansing, and Thompson.

McCormack, Plan Director, and McGill, Attorney, were also present.

1. Primary Approval for a 5-lot replat of Lot 175 on 0.8264 acres of the Villages of Sugar Ridge with applicant Land Consultants and Owner McFarland Properties in a PUD on Augusta Drive in Miller Township was tabled by the Plan Commission for the lack of a letter from the Fire Dept. Nelson motioned and Thompson 2nd to table all ayes. This land was redrawn once before to break up the parcels now they are regrouping it. The total increase would be 3 housing units. No public spoke on this- and the applicant was not present. It was mentioned in the discussion that there are 37 lots in Sugar Ridge going for tax sale and the roads have $150-200,000 left to bring them to code- and no bonds. ( Bankruptcy) UCB bank directors were present for this part of the hearing.

2. ZONE CHANGE REQUEST from Ag to R for multifamily by Owners Dearborn Developers, LLC and Steve Linkmeyer development LLC with Applicant Mike Hall ( stepped down for this) for 21.964 acres on Sycamore Estates Drive in Lawrenceburg Township was forwarded to the Commissioners with a FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION after nearly 2 hours of deliberation. Nelson motioned and Thompson 2nd for Fav Rec with stipulations that it was for 64 units based on geotechnical info to be provided on the site BEFORE the concept plan is approved, interconnectivity be prepared, plans for retention/detention basins be prepared, there be NO EXCAVATION in the 20% slope on the Wilson Creek side, and the applicant work with adjoiners to assist with info regarding the past (fill etc) on this site. All ayes.

Lawrenceburg plans to annex the site in Jan 2010. The application is coming to the county, as a grant is available once a year for the housing. The deadline is Dec 18. Commissioners would have to approve the rezone at their Dec 15 meeting to meet this deadline.
Public speaking for the plan included several men who have gotten jobs preparing the site and wanting to continue working. In opposition were neighbors, Roth, McHenry, and Heath – all located along Wilson Creek Road and all concerned with flooding issues that they say will be made worse by this development above them. The plan includes shelving to fit the site into the hill. The detention is essentially right at the creek. There will be a picnic area on one side as a sort of buffer. Excavation on and around Walmart and this site has affected the creek wildlife and runoff has increased. Walmart issues have caused a re- routing of the creek area already. AEP bought the top of the hill from Hilsinger Development. Slopes are a big problem in this area.

Roth mentioned logging in the woods above him and the increased erosion and silt in the creek already. Heath has a field that is constantly wet now- he’s losing farmland usage to development. There will be 512 vehicle trips per day from this- the road in the development will be private and then attached to Sycamore Drive. [NOTE: How long is this cul-de-sac road?]

Heath noted that Wilson Creek is becoming Wilson Lake. He took issue with the dirt moving into the flood prone areas across US 50, and the fly ash pits over the water supply. He had his land appraised before and after Walmart and lost $440,000 in value after the buildout. He urged Linkmeyer to go slow and see what he has as problems- noting all the fill on this land from the Walmart construction. Heath went so far as to say Linkmeyer bought a “pig in a poke” with this Ellis property. (Heath said he was Linkmeyer’s teacher in shop for 4 years at LHS- they know each other well.) Heath also noted that he came to the county commission 8 years ago – there are 2600 linear feet of fill in the flood area mostly on Mr. Linkmeyer’s property.

Chris McHenry noted she was on the master plan and because of the steep slopes, this land was not slated for development.

Plan Commission members seemed to understand some of these issues, but the grant deadline was a factor as was the fact that Lawrenceburg was going to inherit this in January via annexation. [NOTE: Will the city of Lawrenceburg be concerned about COUNTY residents below this when they do the concept plans? Should the board have taken more time to view this site and its surroundings?]

3. Wind Energy Conversion Systems Ordinance was sent to the commissioners with a favorable recommendation after minor corrections are made. Tim Fuller of T-4 Construction addressed the board and answered questions about the turbines etc. Hoog asked about decibel ratings- none given- but they are as quiet as a fan per Fuller.

ADMINISTRATIVE:
1. 4 subdivision road sets were accepted by commissioners. Witte meeting with Tucker on 2 more and Hillsprings and Indian Ridge are due for bond renewals.

2. St Leon PZ will meet next Wed- they postponed action on their sub’n control ordinance until citizens had time to review.

3. FEMA flood risk open house was held. 90 day comment period in Jan- Mar and PZ gave then a list of issues to check already. May- June 2010 will go to a 6-mo period for commissioners to adopt by the end of 2010. This allows cheaper flood insurance for the whole county.

Meeting adjourned at 10:05 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township