TERRE HAUTE —
Residents of Woodgate subdivision adjacent to Cobblestone Crossing on Tuesday requested the Vigo County Board of Commissioners reconsider issuing a stop work order on new apartments under construction.
Charlie Williams, president of the Woodgate Homeowners Association, and Michael Poinsett, president of Preserving Our Neighborhood Developments (POND), applauded the county board for denying a building permit to Cobblestone Crossing last week for a 24-foot by 77-foot garage.
Commissioners stated earlier this month that no new building permits would be granted until the development and neighbors worked to resolve their disagreement.
Cobblestone Crossing is a commercial and residential development on U.S. 41 south of Woodgate and north of Ivy Tech Community College. The development has several new apartment buildings under construction.
Williams said neighbors want a wall, with some neighbors suggesting a cobblestone wall, to separate two-story apartments under construction at Cobblestone from Woodgate. The wall would provide safety and security for neighborhood residents as well as a buffer zone to protect homeowners’ property values.
Cobblestone, in correspondence with John J. Moore, an Indianapolis attorney representing the neighborhood groups, had suggested the use of a buffer using plants and berms.
“Our attorney emphasized to their attorney that trees and shrubs and perhaps a berm here and there would not address the security and safety needs that we request,” Williams said.
“We did get a response from their attorney last Friday that there is no wall in their plan,” Williams said.
Poinsett said Woodgate neighbors have not been unreasonable.
“Between the developer and the [Vigo County] area planning director, they have plopped an apartment complex right in the middle of five existing residential neighborhoods,” Poinsett said, adding homeowners may see lower property values and lower personal net worth. The county may also see a lower county tax base from those Woodgate homes, he said.
Poinsett said that stopping building permits does not have enough teeth. “If we had $200,000 we would be fighting [in court] to get them torn down,” Poinsett said of the apartments. “Some people can only be dealt with if it hits their pocketbook. That seems to be the case of where we are,” Poinsett said.
Poinsett requested commissioners “reconsider a stop-work order [on construction of apartment buildings]. That is the only way, in my opinion, that we are going to get a reasonable offer from [Cobblestone developer] Jimm Nidlinger.”
Messages seeking comment from Nidlinger were left Tuesday with a receptionist at Cobblestone Crossing.
Secondly, Poinsett asked commissioners to “facilitate an emergency meeting with the Area Plan Commission with all of us. We can bring our lawyer if need be and your lawyer can be there and let’s lay the facts of this on the table.”
Poinsett added that POND and Woodgate residents are already on the Sept. 5 agenda of the Area Plan Commission to speak about their concerns. “If nothing happens Sept. 5, it will be into October” that Woodgate residents would remain without a resolution, Poinsett added.
County Attorney Michael Wright said he will address the two requests with commissioners and get a response to the group’s attorney by next week.
Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
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