On Tuesday, August 19th, Mr. Gary Aker introduced his plans for Maxinkuckee Village to the Culver Plan Commission. He was assisted by Mr. Allen Collins of CMD Construction and his Attorney, Mr. Fred Jones. This was the first trial of Culver’s revised PUD ordinance. The ordinance was revised last year to add a preliminary concept review by the commission to determine if the developer was on the right track or if the commission had fundimental issues with the proposed development. There are still quite a few requirements at this stage including a site plan, topography map, boundary survey and proof of financial capacity. I watched this with interest as it should be a precursor of what happens with the Sand Hill Farm PUD I am considering.
A few months back a group of Culver’s Realtors visited the Plan Commission at a regular meeting. They had concerns regarding the sign section of the Zoning Ordinance and how it was being administered. Most of the administration concerns were that, after years of lax enforcement, our current Building Commissioner has stepped up to the plate and is enforcing the rules that have been on the books for years… as he should. I’m always frustrated that those of us that follow the rules are put at a disadvantage by those that ignore the rules because there are no consequences.
Easterday Construction Co., Inc. has supported little league in Culver for about as long as there has been little league in Culver. We’re proud to do our small part as sponsors of this local endeavor. It’s a wonderful way for kids to learn a skill, learn teamwork and sportsmanship. And this year, we were even able to get the “Easterday Green” as the shirt colors!
Update: I asked Francis Ellert of Coca-Cola, Plymouth if he could get me names of players. Francis is very involved in the Culver Little League program. He gave me the following list of names, though he couched this with, “Some teams made trades and didn’t notify us.” If anyone can give me a line-up in the picture, I’d appreciate it!
Coach: Chris Stevens; Assistant Coach: Tammy Shedrow
Players: Natalie Stevens, Ethan Coyle, Shane Stevens, Madison Shedrow, Oliver Lampton-Adkins, Zachary Culver and Brendan Brown
When I bought the 25 acre portion of the site at auction in 2005 there was a discrepancy in the acreage. The property was listed as approximately 28 acres, but in reality it is closer to 25. Fortunately for me the purchase documents were based on a per acre price. I split the cost of a survey with the seller. The savings were more than enough to pay for my half of the metes and bounds survey as well as allowing me to piggy back an aerial topography on top of that! As near as I can tell, the discrepancy in acreage occurred when additional right-of-way was acquired by the State for State Road 17. The County collected property taxes for decades on property that wasn’t taxable…
Sand Hill Farm is the working name of the Planned Unit Development (PUD) that I plan to submit for consideration to the Culver Plan Commission. I have decided to put the progress of this on this Blog in order to document the process and to solicit input.
The name comes from my childhood, when the property was owned by my Great Aunt and Uncle, Katy and Everett Easterday. As kids we used to play on the Sand Hill and I’ve found that it is known by that moniker to others in the community as well.
The property in question consists of four parcels as shown here. It runs from Academy Road south behind the CCHS baseball diamond, Little League diamonds and down behind Easterday Construction Co., Inc. It then ties into the larger parcel to the west that has frontage on Jefferson Street and State Road 17. It consists of roughly 40 acres. It is currently a mixture of farmland and woods. The current zoning of the property is S-1, Suburban Residential. The property falls within the Culver Zoning Boundaries, but is currently outside the Town Limits.