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Warsaw's plan commission authorized work to resume on Forest Park Mobile Home Park by lifting its stop work order Monday.
The order was issued after numerous development and building code violations were found by Warsaw building inspector Gene Oliver, after residents complained last spring of poor drainage and poorly functioning sewers. Oliver said those deficiencies were sufficiently corrected to allow for the order to be lifted and work to resume.
"All the items listed as needing to be corrected on the stop work order have been addressed and we should now be able to proceed with developing phase one of the project," said attorney Stephen Snyder, who represents the developer, Ben Music and Turnkey Development Inc., and the park's management company, Gipper Development.
Snyder said many of the problems the project experienced were adjusting to the new development and building standards the city adopted earlier this year.
"This has really been a steep learning curve for everyone involved," he said. "But I think that now this is behind us, it will be better for everyone."
Forest Park resident Patricia Stanges, 3015 Old Holiday Road, however, objected, saying the commission was too hasty in lifting the stop work order.
"You all should be ashamed by lifting this order," she said. "The drainage is bad, the sewers don't work, and while I'm not sure whether or not I have mold and mildew under my home, I know others do, and the problems should be corrected before the order is lifted."
Her sentiments were echoed by Kelly Churchill, 820 Wexford Place, who told the board the drainage problem is preventing her and her family from enjoying their new home.
"My kids can't even play in the front yard because we have a river running through it," she said.
In other business, the board took under advisement a complaint from Marty Stevens, 2020 Deer Trail in the Rolling Hills subdivision. Stevens asked the commission 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.
"All I can say is that what was approved in 1994 - 'dense vegetation to obstruct the view from the 3-foot mound' - has not been met," Stevens said.
To back up his case, he showed the commission photographs of sparsely planted trees along the berm separating the industrial park from the subdivision.
The commission agreed that the vegetation was not dense and that the question and remedy need further investigation. The issue was tabled to allow for additional study.
The commission approved the friendly annexation of the east corridor along U.S. 30.
