Plan commission denies sidewalk waiver for Sienna Subdivision, continues primary-plat review

The Porter County Plan Commission denied a design-waiver request and continued the primary-plat review for a proposed 76-lot subdivision on the east side of County Road 100 West between State Road 2 and Carlisle Lane.

Attorney Todd Leath, representing Haven Homes Holdings LLC, told the commission the developer sought a waiver of the Unified Development Ordinance’s external pedestrian network standard so the project would not have to install a sidewalk along County Road 100 West. Leath described the Sienna Subdivision as 76 lots on roughly 39 acres served by Valparaiso utilities and said all interior sidewalks and subdivision geometry meet the county code. “We just don’t wanna build a sidewalk along County Road 100 West,” Leath told the commission.

Hundreds of pages of resident comments and multiple speakers during a lengthy public comment period focused on pedestrian and child-safety risks, traffic and cut-through driving, and drainage. Residents from neighboring Tuscany and Emerald Ridge repeatedly said children walk to Haviland Elementary School and worried that connecting Sienna to existing streets would create a new cut-through route and materially change traffic patterns.

Staff recommended the commission deny the sidewalk waiver and suggested adding a crosswalk across County Road 100 West at the subdivision entrance, with a pedestrian-activated flasher to improve safety. Design professional Doug Radek (presentation) and the developer said the project’s stormwater plan includes substantial open space and basins: “There are over 11 acres of open space in this 39 acre subdivision, 28%,” one project presenter said. The engineering consultant described three large retention basins and said the plan had been reviewed by county stormwater staff.

On the design-waiver case (DW2025-16), the commission voted 6-1 to deny the waiver; the roll-call recording on the record lists the votes as Brightsky: Yes; Deliana: Yes; Kenworthy: Yes; Morales: Yes; Stone: Yes; Williams: No; Burns: Yes (motion passes 6-1). The denial means sidewalks along County Road 100 West must be included in the subdivision plans.

The planning and public comment also surfaced a range of technical concerns residents asked the commission to address: traffic calming, additional or relocated vehicular access points, bus routing, stormwater capacity and outlets, and whether emergency vehicles could access the neighborhood safely if some entrances were blocked. Project representatives said they will connect to Valparaiso city water and sewer (about 80% via gravity sewer; a minority of lots will require individual grinder pumps), that stormwater will be routed through on-site retention basins, and that the design includes required stub connections to adjacent undeveloped parcels as called for in county code.

Given the volume of public concern, a motion to continue the primary-plat case MJ2024-6 for further review carried unanimously. The commission voted 7-0 to continue the primary-plat hearing to its next meeting and asked the petitioner to return with revised plans showing the sidewalk alignment (now required after the waiver denial) and to evaluate staff’s crosswalk recommendation for the County Road 100 West crossing. Roll call on the continuation recorded: Brightsky: Yes; Gilliana: Yes; Kenworthy: Yes; Morales: Yes; Stone: Yes; Williams: Yes; Burns: Yes (passes 7-0).

Staff and commission members said they want additional technical review addressing connectivity, traffic management and stormwater details before the plan advances to a recommendation for the County Commissioners.

Votes at a glance: design-waiver DW2025-16 denied 6-1; primary-plat MJ2024-6 continued 7-0.