28 May 2024 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes

 

28 May 2024 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes

Present: Dennis Kraus, Jr., Chairman, Russell Beiersdorfer, Jeff Hermesch, Mark Lehman, Joe Vogel, Jake Hoog, Dan Lansing, Jim Thatcher, and Eric Lang

ABSENT: Eric Lang and Joe Vogel

Also Present:  Nicole Daily, Planning and Zoning Director, and Andy Baudendistel, Attorney.

Baudendistel read the Title VI statement as legally required.

ACTION ON MINUTES- none 

OLD BUSINESS: none

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Request: Zone Map Amendment from Heavy Industrial (I3) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) Mixed Use

Applicant/Owner: Hrezo Engineering / Lighthouse Point Yacht Club, LLC

Site Location: 11042 SR 56

Parcel: #15-12-09-500-007.000-002

Township: Center Size: +/-56 acres

Existing Zoning: Heavy Industrial (I3)

Nicole daily presented- this is right before you enter Ohio County on Sr 56.

This is a proposed PUD- Planned Unit Development. This is for developments with mixed uses. This allows the board to review development standards that would be different than the zoning ordnance allows for under certain districts. 

The property is approximately 68 acres and 56 of them are requested in the rezone. This is the east side of SR 56. The west side of 56 property is not being rezoned. Cemetery across the street and some residential. Future Land Use map shows this as a flood prone area. There are Ag  and R zones surrounding the property. 

The topography of the site shows land sloping toward the marina.

Plans show the housing surrounding the marina on private roads. There is an office for the marina at road entrance. 

There is a proposed public road going back into the second residential area. 

All of this is in the state flood and is regulated by the state. No rise in the creeks allowed.

Proposed the  garages up and the living quarters above them.

64 townhomes in 4 unit buildings. Taking up about 7.95 of the acreage. Recreational is 1.35 acres. Commercial 1.63 acres. Open space is 45.35 acres.This is a cluster type development. Setbacks vary from R3 standards in some ways. 

Street 1 is 1991 linear ft and is a public street and it is longer than dead end streets are allowed in the code.

Sewage is there fr 16 units- but it needs to be upgraded with a 6 inch line from Lesko Park- for 3450 ft.  

It needs an INDOT permit and possible turn lanes due to being on a state highway. 

Letters were sent to adjoiners. 

Staff recommended some things if it decides favorable recommendation. Staff recommended that the sewer line be built before anything beyond 16 units would be allowed.

Recommends all roads be privately maintained - but NOT publicly maintained. There is no secondary access to the site on the one side.  Buffering is recommended besides landscaping- want a berm to prevent cars coming off SR 56 from wrecking into the area. 

Some calculations show essentially no rise in the creeks. Rohe Asphalt is the neighbor to the north.  

Thatcher called Andy Baudendistel over and asked him something off the record.

Mark Banschbach- He and partner, Rick,  own the marina. They have invested into the marina. This would make great changes aesthetically and environmentally. He also owns Aspen Ridge. He learned that the county is in need of housing, This is not a HUD project. It is for professionals to start a house. $280- 800,000. He and his wife ,Guenevere, redid the Speakman House. We don’t do things half-ass. He knows Rohe and Fehrman have questions. They have spent a lotto money- just to get tooth’s meeting. 

Has a picture from 1997 flood- but the building spots that they are building on were still green. He owns Top Quality Bldg Products. Block on the bottom and bricks above. They did the city building for Aurora and put flood dampers in that and in others.  He understand how to build in the flood plain. Cemetery won’t be complaining. Thinks this is a viable and doable project.

Hoog asked about Randy Turner’s letter from Aurora. Banschbach said they hope with the 16 townhomes- they will have enough profit to make the sewer extension accomplished. He said there is some support from Mike Perleberg with the READI program to get the electric upgraded there. He thinks this will make the marina and the housing better too. Rising Sun doesn’t have the transformer yet to upgrade them - this is almost a 2 year process. 

Lehman- asked if he could handle turning off the public proposed public street to make it private. Baschbach said he has learned more about waterways- and the states have different rules along the Ohio River. He paid $10,000 study about the impact of the buildings on the River.  If we create a fence we cannot affect the HEC- Ras study. He has also submitted color renderings of the 2 and 4 story buildings. He knows the berms cannot work unless whatever they use to build them comes from digging in the property itself in some way. Lehman also asked about the noise from Rohe and his residents if they ever open Rohe back up. 

 

OPEN PUBLIC DISCUSSION

Eric Thomas- representing Rohe companies. They do consider it to be an active property. They would reopen if they need do so. They intend to run an industrial operation at that property. They are concerned about the mixed uses proposed. He has worked along the river 25 years and it is a concern to lose industrial property. 

CLOSED PUBLIC DISCUSSION

Beiersdorfer- This is in the Floodway or Flood Plain.  Answer Flood Way.

Lehman- long line of homes along SR56 and along Industrial properties without screening- concerns him. But he does not know how to address it here. Natural process is to use berms. It seems like they have the space. 

Banschbach said the Rohe property is lower elevation than their roadway by 10-15 ft. He knows because they mow it.  

Lehman - wants to add a widened ditch as an additional option to a berm, 

Hoog- Randy Turner said there wasn’t enough for fire protection there. That is a concern for those  expensive homes. What if there was a medical emergency also? How could they get to them. 

Lehman- Emergency access required maybe along SR 56 for south side. Thinking about floodways.

Hoog-  Laughery Creek also floods and thats there too. 

Banschbach- Also have Water rescue at the marina. We sit 5 ft higher than SR56. Dearborn County water rescue is there. Don’t think a secondary access… This subdivision is 1/4 mile long. He also said they could make the road private . They have priced out flood insurance- about $200/month.

Beiersdorfer- Does not see this as a good idea due to the river and Floodway. Talked about reasons. 

Nicole Daily- DNR treats the Ohio River differently than any other waterway in the county. Due to tourism, etc. They wu=ill get specific in their permit. 

Beiersdorfer- Also has a problem with this being zoned Industrial. Gave examples of noises etc there. 

Thatcher- said Tabling till the next meeting would be a good idea. They are missing 2 members and might not get enough votes for a decision. There are a lot of issues on this. 

Lehman- Wants more thought on some of these issues and showing some diagrams or concepts to show how this will work and blend into the property line.

Banschbach- talked about triple pain windows and 2x6 walls to diminish noise.  

Beiersdorfer and Thatcher motioned to TABLE this until the next meeting to allow the buffering noise to north and buffering SR 56 or possible access issue there. June 24th is next meeting. This will be first on the agenda. All ayes.  

2. Request: Zone Map Amendment from Local Business (B1) to High Density Residential (R3)

Applicant/Owner: Joseph Henry Construction LLC( Joseph Perleberg) / Dearborn County Redevelopment

Site Location: Professional Park Drive

Parcel: #15-01-34-404-001.003-006, #15-01-34-404-001.002-006, #15-01-34-404-002.004-006 & #15-01-34-404-002.003-006

Township: Harrison Size: +/-1.0 acres

Existing Zoning: Local Business (B1)

Nicole Daily- Proposing 4 lots use as Residential. There are 5 vacant lots besides this in the Bright Business subdivision. The road was not built to county standards and so is privately maintained- but is public ROW. This is being requested as a straight zone change to R-3. A concept plan has been submitted as multifamily rentals. No flood plain on the property. Utility letters. 55 letters sent out. 47 delivered and 6 unclaimed and 1 had been unclaimed. Proposed- 12 units - 3 building with 4 units each. 

Joseph Perleberg- owner operator of Joseph Henry Construction. Earlier this year the DCRC put this property. He plans to own them and maintain them himself. Beiersdorfer- asked if they could put a privacy fence up. He thinks he could work something out there. There is a pool over there. Values privacy too. $200-225,000. Two story town homes - about 2000 sq ft each- set up for families. No garage as space restricted. Theres a parking issue. This will be in TIF and so that will bring in money to upgrade the street to public road.. Currently the county does not plow the snow on this.

Kraus asked about storm water retention on the land. Joseph said they haven’t looked at that yet. 

OPENED PUBLIC DISCUSSION  

Brian McFee- Live on Megrue Dr.- they live inn 60 home subdivision. Already have a lot of apartments in the area. Already dealing with noise in the area with stores and restaurants. No parking on street in our neighborhoods. Have garages and use them. Asked if this was public housing project. So if long term upkeep is an issue with the nicer surroundings. Additional social services maybe.Quality of life- we need to see an assurance that this will enhance our neighborhood. Noise, congestion? Want to know more about the long term planning and vision for our area.  

Brent Garrison- Stateline Rd. There are a lit of accidents up there by Dollar General area and congestion. Thinks it’s a bad idea. 

Amanda Wiseman- Memorial Drive right behind this. Her biggest concern is drainage- All this drainage lands in my back yard. Once they cleared lots and added dr office it got worse. She showed 3 enlarged pictures of the drainage issue. He neighbor’s also floods. There is trash from both roads.

 

Brian DeBruler- speaking to show that this runoff is sheeting off the medical office area parking lot. Common occurrence even with a modest rain. Since this is not a county road- Listerman told them that they cannot help. 

Kraus said they have to make sure the additional water stays on the property. He gave examples of how these issues et handled - or not. More discussion of the owner of the road and how to get drainage, But now MS4 is being worked on. It won’t fix the current problem. 

Brian DeBruler- We see a lot of accidents at the formerly 4 way - now an 8 way intersection in Bright.

 

CLOSED PUBLIC DISCUSSION 

Lehman- Jim Deaton (Press of DCRC) said this property will contribute to a TIF district in his letter from DCRC.

[NOTE: What KIND of TIF district is going into Bright?] 

Kraus- medical center on the south end of Professional Park Dr. - The public street never became public. Are they buildable lots? What is the density that could be on these lots? 

Daily read off sq footages for R1, R2 and R3. Essentially 3,630 sq ft per unit. You could tie the approval to the amount of units etc. 

Kraus- We’d be skirting our responsibility as a board to not address these issues. It will take more than these 4 lots to solve this. 

Mike Perleberg- One Dearborn- refers them to the Deaton letter attached and they are working on evaluating this with Bayer Becker Engineering. 

Lehman- Does this piece have to go first for a TIF? Are we getting the cart before the horse?

Mike Perleberg-One Dearborn - Bayer Becker has been working on this since January to look at the TIF. 

Baudendistel- I don’t represent the DCRC so I don’t know what the TIF is going to entail. 

Daily- discussion about all the ways the zone change could hamstring the process.

Kraus- went thru a litany of what can and cannot happen and the results and consequences. 

Lehman- wondered how to make them responsible for all the other problems.

Mike Perleberg -One Dearborn - this is why Indiana allowed Redevelopment Commissions. They are charged with working on the barriers in this area.

These 4 lots went to the county- from sale to St E’s of hospital offices. Then Commissioners asked DCRC to handle. 

Brian McFee- There is no answer about garages, HUD or give’s assisted.

 And one gentleman is from DCRC and the developer is brother?? The board said Mike does not work for DCRC but One Dearborn.

.

Brian De Bruler- clarify who was paying for what in the county and DCRC

Mike Perleberg- One Dearborn - Answering the “optics" of this.  DCRC went above and beyond to advertise the property on radio stations and newspaper and email blast, etc. He listed all the places they presented the opportunity. Also sent to adjacent property owners. He also delivered RFP to businesses in the area…. Etc etc etc. 

Two proposals received  on this DCRC property and he stayed out of the room for those discussions. ( Later after meeting he said the other proposal was from Maxwell) DCRC decided to go with the highest best offer which is his brother’s. 

Lehman went back to asking how to do the study or require this to be tied to TIF- Give DCRC starting tools to solve our problems.. 

Joseph Perleberg- Not government assisted housing- Will look at garages but won’t say he will do them. He has no final agreement with DCRC. ( Asked by Baudendistel- and answered by Joseph) Looking at 4 years to complete the project. Baudendistel suggested they could tie the zone change to a signed agreement with DCRC. That protects the DCRC??

Hoog asked if he would do the roadway maintenance? Joseph seems to not think he should be maintaining it. Daily said this road is used by the public though. But we do not know who is going to maintain it. Joseph Perleberg said- That’s going to be worked out by Bayer Becker and the county. [NOTE: How exactly is that going happen? In what public venue?]

Lehman- This is a big leap of faith that this will have enough TIF money to solve these problems. 

Beiersdorfer- We cannot solve that problem. We can decide if this is a good transition for this piece of property that has been sitting empty for a number of years. 

Kraus- You have to know who is going to fix them potholes and plow the snow on that section of the road with 12 more townhouses.

Lehman- Favorable recommendation with max density of 12 town homes and tie with the condition that DCRC and Joseph Henry Construction  finalize their agreement. Incorporating Article 5 and the findings of fact.And they turn the landscape requirements into written commitments.  Beiersdorfer- 2nded it.  Approved.  

Second meeting in June at Commissioners will have this. 

PUBLIC REQUEST NOT ON AGENDA

Eric Thomas- asked about address issues in Aurora. Daily told him that she will come to Aurora Council to get it straightened out if necessary. There was some heated discussion .

 

ADMINISTRATIVE

Review, discuss and recommend changes to the Zoning Ordinance, Article 25, Section 2502, Table 25.1—R-3 Dimensional Standards for Minimum Living area. Adding 950 fr single family and 750 for 2 family- Approved Favorable Recommendation for this. 

Review, discuss and recommend changes to the Zoning Ordinance, Article 3, Section 315—

Conditional Use Requirements as it related to multi-family process that is no longer needed with the new residential districts. Approved Favorable Recommendation for this.

Review, discuss and recommend changes to the Zoning Ordinance, Article 25, Section 2562—

Residential Townhouse and Multi-Family Design Standards. This section is no longer needed with the new residential districts that now include multi-family standards. Approved Favorable Recommendation for this.

Board is to look this over for the next month:

1. Review and discuss Model Ordinance from the State for Floodplain Regulations.

2. Review and discuss multiple changes to Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations based on new State Code related to development on slopes up to 25%.

Meeting adjourned at 9:45 PM

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township