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Tippecanoe County Drainage Board gives conditional approval to VITA Lifestyle project in Lafayette
Summary
The Tippecanoe County Drainage Board on Jan. 8 granted conditional approval for the 27-acre VITA Lifestyle development to discharge into the Elliott regulated drain, subject to engineering revisions, city approval and potential easement petitions.
The Tippecanoe County Drainage Board on Jan. 8 conditionally approved the VITA Lifestyle development’s request to discharge stormwater into the Elliott regulated drain, with conditions including design changes to outlet structures, armoring of an emergency spillway and outstanding city approvals.
The board approved the submittal after staff and the project engineer described proposed stormwater controls for the approximately 27-acre site at the southwest intersection of Park East Boulevard and State Route 38 in the city of Lafayette. Nigel Hensley of Kimley-Horn said the east half of the site would be served by a wet pond and the west half would contribute detention to F Lake, and added, “We request approval for this project.”
The board’s engineering reviewer identified a scrivener’s error in the Christopher Burke Engineering memo dated Dec. 30, 2024 and clarified storage and fee requirements. County staff said the memo should read that the project site requires 2.3 acre-feet of storage, not 0.3 acre-feet as printed, and that the developer is responsible for the county’s storage fee at $15,000 per acre-foot. Staff recommended conditional approval “as stated on the BERC memo.”
Under the conditions described to the board, the project still needs municipal approval from the city of Lafayette and may require future petitions if the development encroaches on county-regulated drain easements for the Elliott ditch or a branch of F Lake (Branch 11). The county reviewer also noted that the detention basin’s emergency spillway currently overtops the bank of the Elliott open ditch and that the outlet pipe discharges several feet above the ditch flow line; the reviewer recommended armoring the downstream bank and redesigning the outlet to prevent erosion, which could include a drop structure and armor.
A board member moved and a second was made for conditional approval consistent with the Burke memo dated Dec. 30, 2024 (with the revision to the storage figure). The board called for public comment and, hearing none, approved the motion by voice vote; members answered “aye” and the motion carried.
The board’s action is limited to permitting the proposed discharge into the county-regulated drain and to the stated conditions; any required easement petitions or city approvals must return to the board or the city as appropriate.
