Boone County board conditionally approves vacation of Sanders and Sanford drainage tiles for Metasite development

Boone County Drainage Board members voted to conditionally vacate portions of the Sanders and Sanford legal drain tiles on property owned by “Orla” so a planned Metasite (Domino) development can reroute subsurface drainage into a new system.

Carol, a representative of the surveyor’s office, told the board the petition covers only the portions of the Saunders and Sanford tiles on the Orla parcel; upstream portions that serve other landowners remain in place. She said contractors will relocate existing lines and tie private tiles discovered during construction into the new system. “The existing 12 inch tile drains, will be increased with this project to 24 inch tile,” she said, describing the planned upsizing.

John Flax Beard, the engineer of record with Olson, said the reroute would route the Saunders tile east and the Sanford tile west into a detention basin on the site and then discharge to Deer Creek. He said designers used a 0.2 cubic-feet-per-second discharge rate from the drainage manual to size the 24-inch line. “We’re using that 0.2 CFS, discharge rate, per the drainage manual, in order to size that 24 inch line,” he said. He added the 24-inch line would be private but maintained under an agreement between the City of Lebanon and Domino.

At least one nearby resident raised concerns about surface water and whether downstream parties had agreed to accept additional flow. Resident Chris Lutsick asked whether Indianapolis and Deer Creek had agreed to take the drainage. Staff and Carol clarified the petitions concern subsurface tile drainage routed to the same Deer Creek outlet and emphasized the project would include basins and stormwater controls intended to prevent backups to adjacent properties.

The surveyor’s office recommended approval conditioned on completion of the 24-inch tile and installation of the new drainage system, followed by inspection and recording of the relocation. The board moved to accept that recommendation; the motion passed by voice vote. Carol said the surveyor’s office will inspect the completed work before the vacation is recorded.

Next steps: the developer must install the new 24-inch tile and associated drainage infrastructure, the surveyor’s office will inspect the completed construction, and only after the surveyor records the completion will the drainage vacation be finalized.