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A vacation of a right-of-way in the Enchanted Hills neighborhood caused disagreements during the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission meeting on Wednesday, May 6.
Attorney Steve Snyder represented Aitech LLC, who petitioned for a vacation of a platted right-of-way on Treasure Island Road, Syracuse. The right-of-way is on a county-maintained road and the petitioner, who owns the adjoining lots, wanted to remove it because of people driving unsafely through the area.
“This plat of Enchanted Hills … according to the plat, was supposed to be a commercial area, which was pretty limited. Currently, the property is occupied by Reed’s Dock and Reed's (Wawasee) Marina,” stated Snyder. “The biggest concern is the traffic and the speed at which that traffic goes. The volume of traffic that chooses to use this right-of-way as a shortcut even though those two intersections are terrible, in an attempt to get around the congestion of Dollar General … Now with the marina on both sides of Treasure Island, something needs to be done to slow the traffic down.”
Matt Sandy, Area Plan Commission director, asked if they had reached out to the county highway department about the safety concerns and other options besides the vacation, which Snyder answered no.
“That was one of the things brought up in the technical committee … they’d be more than willing to work with any of the owners along there to look at speed bumps, limits or crosswalks,” said Sandy.
“No, because we know that won’t solve the main issue of people walking across Treasure Island with the volume of traffic that uses it instead of East Wawasee Drive, which was intended for the heavy traffic,” retorted Snyder. “I see that traffic get worse every year … and I’ve seen several near collisions on that road.”
Sandy did pass around letters of opposition from the Enchanted Hills Association, Wawasee Property Owners Association, Judy Roberts, John Kellogg and a petition from the residents of Enchanted Hills.
Mike Cannon, a resident of Enchanted Hills, agreed with Snyder that it is a dangerous intersection; however, he said Snyder did not provide any proof of said dangers. He noted that there were no accidents reported and that every road there is traveled too fast. He stated that him and many of the other remonstrators were there to protect Treasure Island Road “because that would split our association up.”
Shane Aiken, a member of the Enchanted Hills community, disagreed with Snyder about the boat renters, as they are able to park on the west side of the road. He noted that there is another marina on that roadway and how if it was him in this situation, he would not want the road closed off. He agreed that the speed is an issue, but not enough to break off the community.
Kim Fiant, who lives on Fascination Way, noted that a vacation would cut her off from the rest of the community. She noted that there was no mention by a representative from Aitch LLC about the fear they had for their customers and if there was, they could have come to anyone in the community about it.
Judy Roberts and Darah Rogers, Enchanted Hills residents, noted that there have been no records of people being hurt after walking along Treasure Island Road and there are a lot of issues with walkability in the Enchanted Hills area. Rogers agreed that there is a traffic problem in the area.
Joe Long said he has feared his children being hit by a driver while living near the right-of-way. He stated after talking to the petitioner, they noted a discussion of having a gate system that would allow for people to walk along the path but would keep traffic out of the area. He noted that after talking with the petitioner, there would be other recommendations on what to do after the vacation was approved.
Snyder agreed with having a pedestrian walkway, but the gates would be more appropriate if it could be used to stop traffic from moving through the area.
Doug Ruch, commission member, asked if Snyder had talked with the Homeowners Association since there was a large remonstrance, which he answered no. Ruch also asked if the marina is so worried about safety, why is there no fencing on the property now, which Snyder gave the short answer of “just getting started.”
Ruch also asked why there were no parking provisions near the docks, to which Snyder answered that there is no accurate parking.
Larry Coplen, commission member, asked why there could not be a roundabout in the area instead of splitting the community into two cul-de-sacs. Snyder said there are other ways of preventing the traffic like getting rid of the right-of-way. Commission member Bob Conley said there would have to be a need for a roundabout in the area, including crash reports indicating that the area is a problem.
Commission member Joe Irwin asked about the special meeting that the HOA had, and how it plays into everything. Brian Reed, the petitioner, stated that it was a private Facebook meeting about him and this vacation. Irwin asked Reed’s opinion on speed bumps, which Reed said, “It would slow the traffic down, but it would make it more of a hassle to navigate down the road,” which the commission all agreed was the point.
After further discussion about what happened during the special meeting of the HOA, the commission discussed some of the opposition letters they had. APC Vice President Kevin McSherry noted that Turkey-Creek Fire Chief Quinn Hunter stated that he was against this vacation as it would cause an issue for emergency services.
The petition was denied.
In other business, Tina Owens, with John Kimpel and Associates Land Survey, filed to vacate a public right-of-way. This property is in the town of Clunette, between CR 600N and CR 400W, Leesburg. Sandy noted that the road vacation was one of two options given to the petitioners, which is what they agreed to do.
“We are combining (the petitioner’s) property together, as he owns a lot of odd lots,” said Owens. “He’s paying us to do this as a courtesy to the whole neighborhood. He does have a building in a lot of the alleyways … he just wants to clean it all up and (get it) looking nice.”
Conley noted that this seemed like a way to fix a past mistake. Irwin agreed that this was a way to clean it up. Irwin moved to approve it with the caveat to combine any landlocked properties, which was approved.
Andrea Muir, Syracuse, is a licensed wildlife rehabber who primarily rehabilitates raccoons. She came to the commission to request a recommendation of use to the Board of Zoning and Appeals. She operates her rehab out of her home in a residential area, which the commission agreed would cause for recommendation in a residential district for an animal rescue.
Muir stated that as one of two wildlife rehabilitators in the county, it is important that she is able to carry out her job, and wanted to make sure that there is plenty of accommodations for the animals she’s bringing in. Irwin asked how many animals she has at a time, which Muir noted no more than 10. This was approved to send to BZA for recommendation of use.
Muir's mother, who is also her neighbor, asked if this would raise their taxes, which the commission stated that it would not affect it at all.
