As we head toward Thanksgiving in only a few days I wanted to thank everyone who signed the petition. It is so encouraging to hear from people who care about our communities - including the natural areas that are so important for life and health!
For those in Portage and surrounding areas, it would be wonderful to have supporters at the December 2 Planning Commission meeting 6:30 PM at City Hall to speak or provide moral support.
And if you can't make it to the meeting, or just find yourself with extra time to kill as you try not to fall into a food coma this week, make sure to email comments to Tom Cherry, Executive Secretary, at tcherry@portage-in.com referencing the Swanson Trails development and asking for the woodland to be preserved. The official agenda item numbers are Z-05-24, Z-06-24, and PD-02-24.
I have copied the email I sent to the Planning Commission below for inspiration.
All the best to you and yours this Thanksgiving!
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"Good afternoon members of the Planning Commission and Executive Secretary Cherry!
I wanted to request your attention to matters related to the proposed Swanson Trails housing development, rezoning and preliminary plans for which are the subject of the December 2 public hearing. My family and I live across from the planned development off of Swanson in the Arvila Acres 2 subdivision. We have really enjoyed having the woodland across the street since we moved in two years ago, appreciating the many kinds of wildlife and birds that come to and from the woodland, as well as the many beautiful trees and wildflowers.
I was happy to see that the planned development included preserving some of this existing woodland. However, the woodland is approximately 20 contiguous acres and the planned development would preserve approximately 6-7 acres in two separate sections. This woodland preservation was touted as an "amenity" of the plan, and certainly preserving these treed areas will provide benefits to the new neighborhood and the surrounding area; however, from noticing the property over the last two years, the areas proposed to be kept as woods are likely wetlands, and my suspicion is that these were left untouched to avoid issues with wetlands and drainage issues, and not as a beneficial feature of the development.
Both broadly and in connection to the Swanson Trails development, I am concerned with the growing loss of open, natural and green space in Portage - of which we have very little preserved and little left available for preserving. Our last comprehensive plan that covers the entire city of Portage was in 2009. The most recent planning effort for any portion of the city was 2015 for the northside, and examining it provides clues as to what current residents want. Themes from public input on the 2015 plan echo my concerns with sustainability and green space throughout our city. For instance, residents valued "nature in an urban area," and "a mix of different terrain and scenery." Additionally, the online petition I started to gauge support for protecting the woodland has to date obtained 200 signatures, 35% of which are from Portage and surrounding communities. This is an area that local residents want to preserve for our communities to enjoy.
Due to the lack of recent comprehensive planning, development continues in much of Portage at a rapid pace without input from residents in more than a 15 years. Residents can of course comment on specific proposed developments but have not had a voice in HOW and WHERE these developments occur across the city, and what restrictions and investments we need to make for the overall quality of life in Portage. Natural and green spaces are critical for quality of life in any city, and, especially for woodlands, we cannot get these areas back ever, and even if allowed to grow back, 100 years from now they would be nowhere near the quality they are now.
In light of these considerations, I am asking for your help on two issues: First, can you work with the developer to come up with a way to preserve the contiguous area of the woodland? Many considerations and options come to mind: Can lots be rearranged to preserve more total area and more connected area of woodland? Could the fitness park or playground areas be reduced in size or cost to offset a greater area of woodland? Could some of the existing wetland water retention in the woodland be counted toward stormwater pond capacity, or could ponds be reconfigured to allow shifting of house lots away from the woodland? Could the developer purchase the lot to the north of the proposed development, which is owned by the same buyer they obtained the current lots from, to relieve development pressure on the woodland? Could the size of the road buffer be reduced to allow more woodland area to be preserved? Could more of the 'higher value' homes be built in areas currently slated for smaller homes/lots to offset the cost of preserving more of the woodland? We have creative and thoughtful folks in the City and county that could help figure out a workable scenario.
Second, can you work to get agreement from the developer to have an ecological evaluation of the woodland so that the most sensitive and important areas can be preserved? A local professional ecologist who is intimately familiar with the region's natural communities has agreed to evaluate the site at no cost to the developer or the City to help identify which areas would be the best candidates for preservation. An additional alternative would be to transfer ownership of all or a portion of the 20 acre woodland to a local land trust or to the Parks Department for management as a park or nature preserve - truly a great amenity and partnership for the developer and the larger community.
Because these important considerations have yet to be fully evaluated and discussed with all parties, I respectfully request that you defer the decision on rezoning and approval of the preliminary development plan until you, city officials, regional planning experts, and the developer can work out an agreement to preserve the woodland.
Thank you for your service on the Planning Commission and for considering these important questions.
Best wishes for your coming holiday!"