Olthof Homes will pay $38,500 to the town of Chesterton as the final settlement from a 2022 case for stormwater violations found at the Springdale subdivision construction site.
Chesterton’s Storm Water Management Board on Monday gave its approval to the settlement, which was negotiated between the town and the developer.
Chesterton’s Town Council will have to give final approval to the settlement at its meeting Monday, said Associate Town Attorney Chuck Parkinson. The payment would then be made within 30 days.
The Indiana Court of Appeals in June 2025 sided with Olthof Homes, finding that the Storm Water Management Board had exceeded its authority in levying a blanket $100,000 fine for multiple past stormwater violations. The appeals court instructed the board to recalculate the fine.
When the Indiana Supreme Court refused to hear Chesterton’s appeal, the town and developer negotiated the final fine amount following the guidance of the Indiana Court of Appeals. Olthof Homes stated it had no liability as a result of the agreement.
Four years ago, Chesterton town officials and the Storm Water Management Board were frustrated with the construction practices of Olthof Homes at the Springdale subdivision on the west side.
Town officials continually fined Olthof Homes, mostly for failing to control muddy water runoff at the construction site between 2019 and 2022.
Instead of changing their practices, town officials believed that Olthof Homes was treating the fines as a cost of doing business. The town had written up 158 stormwater violations over time.
So, the Storm Water Management Board held two days of administrative hearings with Olthof in March and April 2022. As a result, the town halted construction on the site for 11 days to facilitate cleanup and imposed a blanket fine of $100,000.
Olthof Homes appealed the $100,000 fine to the Porter Superior Court and then-Judge Mary DeBoer issued a summary judgment in 2024, upholding the town’s decision.
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The developer then appealed to the Indiana Court of Appeals, which found the fine issued by the town was too large.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.