Happy Constitution Day! Congress created Constitution Day in 2004 and chose September 17 as the day to celebrate it based on that being the last day of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Take the quiz at the Washington Post site here if you want to learn more. Hint: Apparently Benjamin Franklin is never the correct answer… <sigh>
Take a moment today to remember the 39 brave men who signed that document in 1787. Their courage and commitment should be celebrated.
Culver’s Current Zoning Boundary in pink with the approximate 2-mile limit shown in the outer ring.
When I was driving down Hwy 117 the other day I noticed that Mystic Hills has added a couple of new buildings that I’m guessing are rental cabins. I’m glad they are doing well, but I was a bit surprised to see them as I hadn’t remembered any discussion regarding a site plan revision at the Culver Plan Commission. I wasn’t sure how the mixed use had been approved. Then I remembered… Mystic Hills is outside Culver’s Zoning Boundary.
It’s unfortunate, but the Plan Commission members (and me!) were fairly disheartened by the Town Council’s decision to overrule them on the wind turbine ordinance. Rightly so, they believe that this probably killed any chances of extending our territorial authority.
Charley Creek Inn – Proposed Expansion
I just returned from Wabash where I made a presentation to obtain a “Certificate of Appropriateness“. This was required before I could obtain a Demolition Permit necessary to remove a deteriorating old building. I was required to submit floor plans, elevations and a perspective rendering of the proposed new construction. How ironic that on the way back to the office I listened to a NPR piece on Houston, Texas where they don’t even have Zoning!
There have been several status changes to Sand Hill Farm this Spring. The first was the retirement of the County drainage easement through the property. It was replaced by a new easement to the Town of Culver. This was part of the agreement with the Town that saw the relocation of the storm drain from running diagonally across the property to a new location along the property line. This also included removal of a large area of brush and scrub trees which generally improved the property. The second was the inclusion of Sand Hill Farm in the talks regarding Entry Level Housing for Culver. I have served on Culver’s Task Force looking into this issue and helped with the Request For Proposals (RFP) that went out to developers earlier this month. I have been contacted by one developer who has shown interest. We shall see how it proceeds from here. The goal of the RFP is to explore opportunities to obtain an Affordable Housing project that can be parlayed into additional market rate housing through an additional portion of the property.
Please join us tomorrow, May 1st at 10:15am as Governor Pence visits to provide an overview of the 2015 legislative session at The Vault (located inside The Exchange), 112 W. Jefferson Blvd., South Bend.
This is a great opportunity for business and community leaders from our region to thank the Governor for his advocacy of the Regional Cities Initiative and for making it a priority in budget negotiations with the legislators. Also to demonstrate the great enthusiasm and regional collaboration occurring in north central Indiana as we now move forward in the competition to earn half of the $84M slated in the budget to support our Regional Cities of Northern Indiana projects.
If you are not able to attend the update, please consider sending a note to Governor Pence via his constituent representative at: kkane@gov.in.gov. Having the governor hear a huge thank you from the business community will be extremely helpful for future funding years.
Provided by Linda Yoder, Executive Director, Marshall County Community Foundation
Image Source: Inside Indiana Business