Hoffman Lake Residents Want DNR To Forego Plans For Boat Ramp
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
HOFFMAN LAKE - What does it take to get the Indiana Department of Natural Resources NOT to do something?
Hoffman Lake residents Patrick Terry and George and Margaret Konopasek, along with several other residents, are leaving nothing to chance. They've contacted State Sen. Kent Adams, Kosciusko County commissioner Ron Truex, Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission, local media, the DNR and even the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. They have a petition ready with 50 names on it supporting their cause.
Their goal is simple: To keep the DNR from purchasing a 0.57-acre parcel of land on Hoffman Lake and turning it into a boat ramp with parking and portable toilets. The property butts up against the Konopaseks' property.
According to a letter from the DNR to Hoffman Lake residents, Hoffman Lake is a public freshwater lake and the property in question is being purchased to provide fishermen access to the lake. There is a need to provide more access to Indiana waters, according to the letter, as demand for fishing is high.
The site would consist of a concrete ramp, an accessible pier and a gravel parking lot. The parking lot would be small due to the size of the site and would hold only seven vehicles with boat trailers. Much of the vegetation around the peninsula would remain to screen the parking lot from view as much as possible. Boaters would be restricted to the 10 mph speed limit and conservation officers would routinely patrol the access site. No camping or fires would be permitted and the DFW would be responsible for regular site maintenance, according to the letter. The discharge of firearms on the access site property is prohibited as is swimming.
A fence separates George Konopasek's property from the half acres and is only 27 feet from the water's edge. The property is for sale for approximately $20,900. The Konopaseks offered to purchase it from the property owner, Joan Pass, for $10,000, but that offer was declined.
Ted Leverman, DNR public access coordinator, said today the DNR is in discussion with Pass on the purchase of the property. The DNR may buy the property if she accepts their offer.
He said the DNR has to go with a willing seller when the DNR wants to put a public access point on a lake. Property owners on the east side of the lake were not willing to sell any property to the DNR.
Because of the size of the property, Konopasek said neither a septic system nor a residence can be built on the property. There's no room for egress or ingress for a residence and little room between that property and adjacent properties.
Terry said the land has slowly eroded over the years. "It's got quite a bit erosion," he said.
That's not the only concerns area residents have. George Konopasek said residents on the lake are 95 percent year-round residents. Most are retired, said Terry, and they like the nice, quiet neighborhood.
"We just don't feel we want to turn this into Coney Island," said Terry.
Another concern is safety. The road, Lakeview Drive, is a cul-de-sac. Putting an access point on the peninsula will cause traffic safety concerns, George Konopasek said.
And then there's the portable bathrooms. In the summer's heat, George Konopasek said, the smell will be awful and they'll be right in his back yard. If the DNR puts up a privacy fence, as they suggested they could, not only will that not help with the odor, but, he said, it will block the view of the lake and wildlife, which is why they moved to the lake in the first place.
"I certainly don't want that in my back yard," said George Konopasek.
Both the Konopaseks and Terry don't know why the DNR chose that small piece of property instead of somewhere else along the 181-acre lake. Terry said the DNR will have to do some "serious dredging" to make the peninsula usable. "I'm not sure they've looked at it," he said.
George Konopasek said the property was zoned agriculture, but now is residential. He said no one was informed of any meeting to change the designation.
Today, plan commission assistant planner Matt Sandy said the property is zoned residential and according to their records, it was never agriculture. The plan commission is "investigating" the piece of land to see if it is a valid tract of ground.
"Everything we're showing is documenting it as residential," said Sandy.
Under county ordinances, new tracts of ground are required to have 50 feet of road frontage to be a legal tract of ground. The 0.57 acre has only approximately 37 feet, Sandy said. Plats of Hoffman Lake area date back to the 1930s and the plan commission is attempting to find the legal description of when the 0.57 acre was created.
If the land was created in violation, the plan commission would have to treat it as such. If the DNR or anyone else bought the piece of property, options to correct the violation would include purchasing more property in the area to expand the road frontage.
If the tract is legal and a buyer gets all the necessary documents - from the health department, highway department and flood zone documentation - Sandy said, any use under the residential zoning could be built on the acreage. Some work would probably be needed to the site and uses could include churches, college buildings, schools, parks, dwellings, accessory uses, essential uses, grain farming, private swimming pool and home office. Through the Board of Zoning Appeals, there also are 19 other exception uses possible. Even if the property was agriculturally zoned, Sandy said, public parks are still permitted in agriculturally zoned areas.
Sandy said the road frontage is "where the big question is."
Leverman said the DNR did receive a letter from the plan commission regarding the 50 feet of road frontage and said Pass is in discussions with the plan commission on that issue. He said the road frontage is wide enough for the DNR to put a road in there to access the half acre.
Leverman said if the DNR buys the property, they have to go before the plan commission in a public meeting to have the use approved. That may be later this year or early next year depending on if Pass agrees to the price the DNR is offering. [[In-content Ad]]
HOFFMAN LAKE - What does it take to get the Indiana Department of Natural Resources NOT to do something?
Hoffman Lake residents Patrick Terry and George and Margaret Konopasek, along with several other residents, are leaving nothing to chance. They've contacted State Sen. Kent Adams, Kosciusko County commissioner Ron Truex, Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission, local media, the DNR and even the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. They have a petition ready with 50 names on it supporting their cause.
Their goal is simple: To keep the DNR from purchasing a 0.57-acre parcel of land on Hoffman Lake and turning it into a boat ramp with parking and portable toilets. The property butts up against the Konopaseks' property.
According to a letter from the DNR to Hoffman Lake residents, Hoffman Lake is a public freshwater lake and the property in question is being purchased to provide fishermen access to the lake. There is a need to provide more access to Indiana waters, according to the letter, as demand for fishing is high.
The site would consist of a concrete ramp, an accessible pier and a gravel parking lot. The parking lot would be small due to the size of the site and would hold only seven vehicles with boat trailers. Much of the vegetation around the peninsula would remain to screen the parking lot from view as much as possible. Boaters would be restricted to the 10 mph speed limit and conservation officers would routinely patrol the access site. No camping or fires would be permitted and the DFW would be responsible for regular site maintenance, according to the letter. The discharge of firearms on the access site property is prohibited as is swimming.
A fence separates George Konopasek's property from the half acres and is only 27 feet from the water's edge. The property is for sale for approximately $20,900. The Konopaseks offered to purchase it from the property owner, Joan Pass, for $10,000, but that offer was declined.
Ted Leverman, DNR public access coordinator, said today the DNR is in discussion with Pass on the purchase of the property. The DNR may buy the property if she accepts their offer.
He said the DNR has to go with a willing seller when the DNR wants to put a public access point on a lake. Property owners on the east side of the lake were not willing to sell any property to the DNR.
Because of the size of the property, Konopasek said neither a septic system nor a residence can be built on the property. There's no room for egress or ingress for a residence and little room between that property and adjacent properties.
Terry said the land has slowly eroded over the years. "It's got quite a bit erosion," he said.
That's not the only concerns area residents have. George Konopasek said residents on the lake are 95 percent year-round residents. Most are retired, said Terry, and they like the nice, quiet neighborhood.
"We just don't feel we want to turn this into Coney Island," said Terry.
Another concern is safety. The road, Lakeview Drive, is a cul-de-sac. Putting an access point on the peninsula will cause traffic safety concerns, George Konopasek said.
And then there's the portable bathrooms. In the summer's heat, George Konopasek said, the smell will be awful and they'll be right in his back yard. If the DNR puts up a privacy fence, as they suggested they could, not only will that not help with the odor, but, he said, it will block the view of the lake and wildlife, which is why they moved to the lake in the first place.
"I certainly don't want that in my back yard," said George Konopasek.
Both the Konopaseks and Terry don't know why the DNR chose that small piece of property instead of somewhere else along the 181-acre lake. Terry said the DNR will have to do some "serious dredging" to make the peninsula usable. "I'm not sure they've looked at it," he said.
George Konopasek said the property was zoned agriculture, but now is residential. He said no one was informed of any meeting to change the designation.
Today, plan commission assistant planner Matt Sandy said the property is zoned residential and according to their records, it was never agriculture. The plan commission is "investigating" the piece of land to see if it is a valid tract of ground.
"Everything we're showing is documenting it as residential," said Sandy.
Under county ordinances, new tracts of ground are required to have 50 feet of road frontage to be a legal tract of ground. The 0.57 acre has only approximately 37 feet, Sandy said. Plats of Hoffman Lake area date back to the 1930s and the plan commission is attempting to find the legal description of when the 0.57 acre was created.
If the land was created in violation, the plan commission would have to treat it as such. If the DNR or anyone else bought the piece of property, options to correct the violation would include purchasing more property in the area to expand the road frontage.
If the tract is legal and a buyer gets all the necessary documents - from the health department, highway department and flood zone documentation - Sandy said, any use under the residential zoning could be built on the acreage. Some work would probably be needed to the site and uses could include churches, college buildings, schools, parks, dwellings, accessory uses, essential uses, grain farming, private swimming pool and home office. Through the Board of Zoning Appeals, there also are 19 other exception uses possible. Even if the property was agriculturally zoned, Sandy said, public parks are still permitted in agriculturally zoned areas.
Sandy said the road frontage is "where the big question is."
Leverman said the DNR did receive a letter from the plan commission regarding the 50 feet of road frontage and said Pass is in discussions with the plan commission on that issue. He said the road frontage is wide enough for the DNR to put a road in there to access the half acre.
Leverman said if the DNR buys the property, they have to go before the plan commission in a public meeting to have the use approved. That may be later this year or early next year depending on if Pass agrees to the price the DNR is offering. [[In-content Ad]]