Elkhart County commissioners on Oct. 20 approved a development plan unit district (DPUD) and primary site plan for a proposed NIPSCO New Paris local operations center on Fernbrook Road, with conditions requiring expanded berming and landscaping along property lines adjacent to nearby residences.

NIPSCO representatives Tanya Stanley and Jack Halls described the project as an operations center similar in use to a county highway facility, with an office/warehouse building, fleet maintenance and covered vehicle garages, outside material storage for poles and pipe, and pull-through parking to support emergency response. Stanley said the company expects the site to support roughly 150 employees countywide and would not build generation/substation infrastructure at the location.

Site designers said Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) staff discouraged access from State Road 15 and that INDOT intends to signalize the intersection of County Road 142 and State Road 15 in 2027; the DPUD plan places major vehicle access on County Road 142 and an employee entrance on Fernbrook Drive. The team said they had coordinated with the New Paris Conservancy District to upgrade a lift station in the northeast corner of the site and that the plan includes dry detention and other stormwater measures.

The technical review committee and planning staff issued a favorable recommendation to the plan commission; the plan commission ultimately forwarded a neutral recommendation (7 in favor, 1 against, 1 absent) to the commissioners. During the commissioners' hearing, neighbors objected to potential light and noise pollution, outdoor storage visibility and property-value impacts. Dennis Chubb, who owns property adjacent to the site, said he was particularly concerned that the site's plans envision outdoor storage and possible future demonstration projects such as solar, batteries and small towers, and said NIPSCO's existing properties elsewhere were poorly maintained in his view.

NIPSCO and its designers responded with details of screening. The plan as presented includes a 12-foot berm on the west side of the site with plantings on top; a 6-foot berm and landscaped buffer on the south side; and on the north side an approximately 2-foot berm plus an 8-foot opaque fence and landscaping (for an effective screening height of about 10 feet). NIPSCO representatives said the company prefers security fencing around interior areas and that the plan locates most outdoor storage behind the 12-foot berm.

Commissioners negotiated final conditions on buffering. The motion approved by the board specified a 12-foot berm with screening and landscaping adjacent to the west side of the nearest residential property, an 8-foot opaque fence on top of a 2-foot berm with landscaping on the north side adjacent to the dental/residential property, and compliance with zoning code screening on the south side. Commissioners also noted the company's commitments to site maintenance and planned photometric lighting with no spill onto adjacent properties.

Commissioner roll call recorded votes as: Commissioner Barnes, Yes; Commissioner Rogers, No; Commissioner White, Yes. The motion passed 2'to
. The transcript indicates the board's approval included the buffering and landscaping clarifications agreed during the hearing.

Why it matters: the site will serve as a regional operations and response center for NIPSCO and is likely to shape future development along the State Road 15/Fernbrook corridor; commissioners balanced the utility's operational needs with neighborhood buffering and traffic-access conditions. Construction, if scheduled as presented, would start in 2026 with an estimated opening around September 2027, and the company indicated it will undertake improvements to the adjacent conservancy district lift station as part of project commitments.

Next steps: NIPSCO must comply with DPUD conditions; the company said it will install berms and plantings early in construction and implement photometric lighting controls and other elements described in the DPUD submission.