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The Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission will discuss the Lake Access Ordinance Amendment during its regular meeting Wednesday.
The ordinance addresses how much shoreline will be available to multiple property owners, who live off the waterfront, to access a lake.
If approved, lake access developments in all zoning districts will require 75 feet of shoreline for the first residential unit, 50 additional feet for the second residential unit and 20 additional feet for all other residential units.
A 10-house residential subdivision, for example, set across the road from a lake would require 285 feet of shoreline for direct access to the lake.
"We're getting a steady stream of supportive letters on the ordinance," said Plan Commission Director Dan Richard.
The practice of allowing subdivision property owners access to the lake through a lakeside vacant lot is called funneling.
The problem is not who has the right to use the lake, but the impact an overabundance of people and motorized watercraft can have on the lake ecosystem, according to Dan Lee, president of the Chapman Lake Conservation Association.
"The entire issue was brought to the fore by (County) Commissioner (Brad) Jackson, who is a builder himself. It recognizes what can occur if unrestricted lake development takes place," Lee said.
The idea to limit access to the lake began in September when David Tyler, a member of the Tippecanoe Property Owners Association, asked the board to consider adopting a lake district ordinance.
A lake district committee developed in response. That group includes plan commission member Larry Coplen, Richard, Assistant Planner Matt Sandy, plan commission staff member Amy Irwin, Tyler and other members of the public who belong to various lake associations.
An ordinance giving teeth to erosion control emerged from the group. The lake access ordinance is the second law initiated by the committee.
If recommended for approval by the plan commission Wednesday, the county commissioners will hear the ordinance for codification.
Plan commission members also will consider a request by Pat Knott to rezone land from public use to a commercial district on the north side of Market Street, 250 feet east of Ind. 13 in Washington Township.
A subdivision easement ordinance amendment also will be reviewed.
