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How dense is dense?
That's the question the Warsaw Plan Commission was asked Monday, acting on a request by Marty Stevens.
Stevens, 2020 Deer Trail in the Rolling Hills subdivision, asked the commission at their Aug. 17 meeting to investigate what he called a violation of the commission's 1994 order requiring a "dense natural barrier" separating the homes in the subdivision from the adjacent industrial park development.
"In the 1994 agreement, Mr. (Bill) Haldewang agreed that the buffer would be 20 feet thick and 'densely planted,'" Stevens said. "The preliminary plat approval was contingent on the developer constructing the 3-foot berm and planting the trees, with any subsequent lot owners in the (industrial) park responsible for the maintenance of the berm and trees.
"I reiterate my request that the developer be required to meet the buffer requirements called for by the 1994 commission plat approval, or that the city initiate litigation to force him to," he said.
Steve Snyder, representing the Haldewang development, said the berm was planted with Colorado spruce trees, and that the landscaper doing the work assured Haldewang that they would provide a dense vegetation screen at some point.
"How do you densely plant a Colorado spruce? The landscaper who planted the trees has indicated the Colorado spruce trees are densely planted and will provide sufficient screening once they grow together," he said. "The developer has met the requirements of the ordinance and the plat. But, the immediate density sought won't occur right now with the Colorado spruce trees. It will take two to three years."
Snyder added that the question of whether the trees are densely planted is a civil matter between Haldewang and Stevens, and that Stevens has already filed suit in the dispute.
"Yes, I have had my attorney file litigation in terms of the buffer," Stevens said. "But why should I have to incur the large expense of enforcing a requirement of this commission?"
Haldewang has flatly refused to cooperate in resolving the dispute, Stevens said, even refusing to allow Stevens to densely plant the trees on the berm.
"I've offered to have my own landscaper to plant the needed 'fast growth' plants to provide a fast, dense buffer, but Mr. Haldewang flatly refused my offer," Stevens said.
Commission President Richard Keevan, a member of the board when the 1994 approval was given, said it was his understanding at the time that there was a requirement that the trees block the view of the industrial park from the homes in Rolling Hills, and that in his opinion, that requirement has yet to be met.
"The way I remember the discussion in 1994, the vegetation was to be dense within two to three years," he said. "And now, as I understand it, it will take 15 to 20 years before these trees grow sufficiently to provide the proper screening."
Commissioner Jeff Grose concurred, saying the buffer, as it is now, is wholly unacceptable.
"The idea of the screening was to protect him (Stevens) from having to see what's going on behind the screening. And this isn't getting it," he said. "I'm ready to laugh at this 'attempt' because this isn't an attempt at all."
The commission voted to find Haldewang out of compliance with the stipulations put forward in the plat approval.
City Planner Jeff Noffsinger was directed to inform Haldewang of the industrial park's noncompliance with the plat approval and to administratively enforce the approval.
