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Residents protest corner‑lot build over drainage, council orders engineering re‑review
Summary
Residents of a Cedar Lake neighborhood raised safety and flooding concerns after a house under construction at 139th and Hoosman was built with a driveway and roof pitch different from what they say was presented to the Board of Zoning Appeals; council placed a red tag/stop‑work order and instructed the town engineer to re‑review the permit and site plan.
Multiple neighbors told the Cedar Lake Town Council on July 7 that the new home at the corner of West 139th Avenue and Hoosman Street was being built with a different driveway location and roof pitch than was shown at the Board of Zoning Appeals, and that the changes could worsen drainage and block access to a publicly used lakefront road.
"They said there will be no driveway on 139th Avenue," Becky Davis said during public comment, asserting that the BZA discussion included a representation that the driveway would not come onto the lake access road. Several neighbors said the house originally discussed at the BZA had the garage and driveway on Houston Street but that the permit and engineered site plan submitted to the building department show a driveway onto 139th.
Residents said the change removes roughly 20–25 feet of parking and creates a traffic and safety hazard at a narrow corner used by children and bicyclists. Neighbors also described basement flooding at an adjacent property and worried that a steeper roof pitch on the new house would direct stormwater toward homes that do not have storm sewers on that street.
Town staff confirmed that the building permit was issued on the engineered site plan submitted for construction and that the site as built matches that permit. Building official Tim Kubiak placed a red tag/stop‑work order on the parcel after the conflict was raised and told the council he would coordinate a re‑review by the town engineer.
Council President (chair) said an engineering review and a follow‑up meeting with affected residents would be arranged. "We're going to get the engineer out there," the chair said, asking staff to notify residents and arrange for anyone who wishes to attend to meet the engineer on site. The building official agreed to facilitate that coordination.
The council did not lift the red tag at the meeting. The town's stated next step is an independent engineer assessment of the permit and the site‑plan documents compared with the field conditions; council members said they would review the engineer's findings before taking any further action.
