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The city is going to court over trees.
Warsaw Plan Commission is acting on a complaint from Marty Stevens, 2020 Deer Trail, in the Rolling Hills subdivision, who asked the commission to enforce a 1994 order requiring a "dense natural barrier" separating the homes in the subdivision from the adjacent industrial park owned and developed by William Haldewang.
The commission found Haldewang to be out of compliance with that order in September. It ordered city planner Jeff Noffsinger and city attorney Mike Valentine to look into enforcing the screening order administratively or, failing that, to begin civil action to force compliance.
"You instructed me to file suit seeking injunctive relief to force Mr. Haldewang to come into compliance with what the board required of him in terms of screening," Valentine said. "Mr. Haldewang, through his counsel, has issued a letter stating he will allow Mr. Stevens - and only Mr. Stevens - to plant trees on his property, at Mr. Stevens' expense."
Commission president Joe Thallemer asked the board if the Haldewang proposal was acceptable.
"Seeing that Mr. Haldewang has offered to allow Mr. Stevens to plant the trees, but not at Mr. Haldewang's expense, and this only involves Mr. Stevens' property, is this proposal acceptable to keep us from going to court?" he asked.
Commissioner Bill Baldwin said the Haldewang proposal would still not provide the necessary screening called for by the 1994 requirement for a 20-foot- wide evergreen buffer strip along the seven lots in the Rolling Hills subdivision that abuts the industrial park.
"We determined before that Mr. Haldewang is out of compliance, and with this compromise he would still be out of compliance," he said. "I move we begin court proceedings."
Baldwin's motion was unanimously approved.
