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Elkhart commission approves DLZ contract after residents raise easement, access concerns on Karen Drive
Summary
After Karen Drive residents told the Redevelopment Commission they were not notified about easement changes and reported crews on private property, the commission approved an $84,575 DLZ contract to research easements and require owner outreach.
The Elkhart Redevelopment Commission voted to hire DLZ Indiana LLC to research easements and related property rights for a proposed extension and water-line loop near Karen Drive, approving $84,575 from the Casopolis Street corridor allocation area.
Mike Huber, director of development services for the City of Elkhart, told the commission the contract’s initial scope is to research existing easements, determine who has access and ‘‘initiate contact with all of the partners or potential property owners that would be impacted by the project.’’ He added the contract can require DLZ to communicate directly with owners.
Several Karen Drive residents urged the commission to delay or require clearer outreach. Chad Rapp said homeowners ‘‘have never been given notification’’ and told commissioners he had filed a FOIA request after learning Gates and Gurley Leap had given the city the easement in September 2022, information he said residents did not receive. Joe Geier and Michael English said contractors had been conducting soil and core samples and, in English’s account, driving through his yard without prior notice.
Responding to those concerns, Huber said, ‘‘This is the very initial phase of the process,’’ and that the purpose of hiring DLZ is to ‘‘do the research on all of the existing easements’’ and to ‘‘initiate contact’’ with property owners. He said staff will tell the developer the developer’s crews must access the site from Emerson Drive and ‘‘stay on the limits of the property.’’ Huber also said, ‘‘We can make that part of the contract’’ to ensure DLZ contacts property owners.
The motion to approve the DLZ contract carried by voice vote. The chair asked staff to follow up with residents and Mike Huber to ‘‘get this straightened out’’ after the meeting.
What happens next: DLZ will begin easement research and outreach as part of the contracted scope; any later decision to acquire right-of-way for a full road connection would require additional approvals and possible expansion of the contract.
