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Planning Commission continues review of 49‑page stormwater ordinance to June 24, requests questions within two weeks
Summary
The commission continued the stormwater ordinance discussion to its June 24 meeting and asked commissioners to submit technical questions within two weeks; staff said the ordinance is a standardized IDEM‑MS4 template tailored for Michigan City and contains no citywide stormwater fee.
The Michigan City Planning Commission on May 27 voted to continue consideration of a new municipal stormwater ordinance so members and staff can gather technical questions and present clarifying responses. The commission scheduled the item for its June 24 meeting at 6 p.m. and asked commissioners to submit questions to planning staff within two weeks.
Sanitary district representative Al Wallace and city attorney Ernie Hale explained that the proposed ordinance (Exhibit A) is a technical, 49‑page document that implements requirements of the 2021 Construction Stormwater General Permit and the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit and was prepared using a statewide template developed with assistance from Purdue University. Exhibit B contains 43 additions and deletions to the zoning and subdivision codes — chiefly removing stormwater language from Zoning Code Article 20 and redirecting references to the new city stormwater code.
Wallace said the template has been adopted or adapted by other Indiana communities and that local tailoring is necessary to reflect Michigan City’s conditions, and he offered to meet with commissioners or staff to walk through technical questions. He told the commission the city is not proposing a general stormwater fee for property owners; the only fees that may be charged would be plan‑review fees tied to developer drainage plans if the sanitary district elects to recover review costs.
Commissioners described the ordinance as technical and voluminous and recommended practical briefings in layman’s terms for council members and others who will consider the ordinance. Several commissioners suggested a joint workshop or an educational presentation to explain the ordinance’s purpose, how it will be used by developers and the differences between the zoning code and the city code versions. The commission agreed to collect and submit questions to staff (via planning staff and the planning commission clerk) within two weeks so staff and Al Wallace can prepare answers ahead of the June meeting.
Public commenters supported clarity and suggested a workshop for council and commission members. Tommy Kolovic asked specifically whether the ordinance includes a stormwater fee; Wallace answered there is no citywide stormwater fee in the proposed ordinance.
The motion to continue the item to the June 24 meeting, with the two‑week deadline for submitting questions to planning staff, passed by roll call (Bolling, Connolly, Dabney, DeMedici, Klender, Tietta and Warner — all in favor). The commission’s resolution and a certification will accompany the package when sent to the Common Council if the commission ultimately votes to recommend adoption.
Wallace noted that because IDEM requires regular review, the city will be required to revisit the ordinance every five years, meaning ongoing engagement and education for commissioners and council members will be important.
