A proposed 27-lot development aimed at adding affordable single-family homes to the Valparaiso market got a mixed reception at public hearings before the Valparaiso Plan Commission Tuesday evening.
The 4.79 acres in question are located at the southeast corner of Cumberland Drive and Bullseye Lake Road.
No action was taken following the hearings on petitions to subdivide four disconnected areas of land and also to rezone the 4.79-acre area being called Cumberland Corner from Business Park (BP) to Urban Residential (UR). The plan commission will vote on the petitions after more discussion at their next meeting June 2.
While the city itself seemingly has considerable built-in support of the project – Plan Commission President Matt Evans recused himself from the proceedings because he’s a technical advisory board member for Paradise Community Homes, the non-profit developer proposing the plan, and also has done work for Urschel Development Corporation, the owner of the land, as a real estate agent; and Plan Commission Vice President Tim Warner also recused himself because he, too, has a seat on the Paradise board and has done business with Urschel – the public was less convinced.
Also, Bill Oeding, president and CEO of Paradise Community Homes, was the city administrator until five days before the hearings.
“Good evening and thanks for not forgetting me,” he said as he approached the lectern. “I am stepping into a more full-time role with Paradise Homes.”
In a phone call Friday afternoon, Oeding said he doesn’t agree with accusations of a conflict of interest. He said he’s put in an enormous amount of time in the effort to bring affordable housing to Valparaiso, and instead of doing so in his off-hours as a city employee, he can now devote more time to it.
“I’m not making any money off of this,” he said. “The people that do nothing are quick to criticize the people that do something.”
He explained Paradise Homes was started in May 2023 out of a desire to help people either purchase their first home or downsize. “Attainable homes are hard to get and not just in Valparaiso. It’s a national issue,” he said, adding that no homes are being built for less than $425,000.
Plan Commission member Vic Ritter took over the running of the meeting, and Michael Fenech, partner at the Barnes and Thornburg South Bend office, took the floor to explain the petition on behalf of Urschel Development Corp. to subdivide four disconnected areas of land into separate parcels.
He explained the petition sought to simplify the legal description of land acquired over many decades and said one parcel was being transferred to Paradise and one to the Valparaiso Family YMCA.
Paradise hopes to develop nine lots at market rate and the other 18 in the $250,000 to $300,000 range, for 1,200-square-foot three-bedroom, two-bath homes with one-car garages. There would be three rows of houses.
More Top Picks Best Motorcycle Intercoms For The Money
The first row along Bullseye Lake Road would be market rate and face north with rear-loaded garages in an alley to the south that would be shared with “attainable homes” that face south in row two. The third row would be front-loaded with garages facing north.
There were few comments from the public in support of the petitions. Jennifer Brock, a member of the social justice consortium of religious groups We Make Indiana Porter County was one of them.
“This is really advantageous for young families and for seniors,” she said, adding that the environmental impact of homes would be preferable to the vast impervious surfaces that would be needed by light industrial and its hit to air quality if the zoning change request wasn’t granted.
Kevin Cornett, a member of the Paradise Homes technical advisory committee, said they knew there would be a lot of people unhappy about trees coming down to build houses, but reminded the audience, “There were trees taken down to build your lot.”
He also called on the public to stop making regrettable remarks about the Paradise Homes board on social media. “Nobody on the board is trying to get rich on this,” he said.
Peggy Sharpe, of the 3700 block of Meadowlark Drive, was concerned about her home’s resale value.
“We saved and we bought up and we bought up,” she said. “I don’t want to be surrounded with lower-income homes that are going to depress our income that we’ve put into our homes and resale value,” she said. “It’s not fair. We had to work to get to where we are.”
Valparaiso YMCA CEO Sharon Johnson said the shared boundary between the Y and the backyards of the future homeowners, if the development is approved, would create “new, unavoidable access” to the Y property and would make supervision of children difficult for her staff.
“This is the point in the process where these boundary issues can be addressed safely and thoughtfully,” she said after asking for some type of fencing and full disclosure to prospective buyers.
Amy Nondorf, of the 2200 block of Beauty Creek Court, said that if the Y got barriers as requested, it would “make it even harder for wildlife, as you have so eloquently said (addressing Oeding), ‘to move on.’”
Multiple speakers failed to find $250,000 to $300,000 affordable. The median household income in Valparaiso is $69,872, leading to take-home pay of around $1,100 per week after federal income and FICA taxes. A $250,000 home at 6% interest for a 30-year term would run roughly $1,499 per month, excluding taxes and insurance.
To stay within traditional guidelines of spending no more than 25% of take-home pay on housing, buyers with a median household income would need to find something cheaper, but Oeding said that’s not realistic for new construction.
“Standard construction in today’s world says, ‘No, you can’t,’” on building for less, “unless you have a lot of state and federal grants,” he said. “When someone applies, we’re not looking at their income level. We leave that to the banks.”
He said Paradise aims to beat the market rate and stay under $300,000 for new construction. “What we’re trying to do is provide a quality product.”
Ashley Smithey said while these proposed homes are considered affordable, she wanted to know for how long and for how many owners. She said sellers in Valparaiso and Porter County are routinely being offered a minimum of $30,000 over asking price by Illinois buyers.
When given the floor to respond to questions and comments, Oeding said it was the best question of the evening and explained Paradise will have the right of first refusal should the homes go back on the market.
The Paradise Homes website explains prospective buyers in the affordably-priced program must have lived and/or worked in Center Township or within the corporate limits of Valparaiso for at least one year before application.
Oeding said there is no appreciated value on the homes for the first three years of ownership. After 10 years, homeowners are welcome to any market appreciation, he said. “Guess what? You get it all. You deserve it all. You are not in to take advantage of this.”
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.