A nonprofit animal rescue is seeking support from Crown Point residents after receiving disappointing news from the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals for their location of choice.
At the Aug. 24 meeting, Board of Zoning Appeals members unanimously voted for an unfavorable recommendation to rezone property for New Leash on Life’s proposed 20,000-square-foot facility at 12430 South Court Street. New Leash on Life will go before the Crown Point City Council at 6 p.m. Sept. 8 at Crown Point City Hall at 101 N. East Street to present their project for a vote.
A building contractor and residents of a nearby luxury home community voiced their opposition against rezoning 19 acres of undeveloped land for a proposed animal shelter and low-cost veterinary clinic in south Crown Point.
The residents predominantly cited concerns about noise, property values, traffic and allergens. Board members also said they have received 60 to 70 letters from people objecting to the project.
Donna Burrell Pace, founder of New Leash on Life, said she was surprised by the board’s decision. She asked those in support of their project and location to email, write or call Crown Point council members before the Sept. 8 meeting.
“They need to write letters, make phone calls and show up on September 8th to support us and show the council that this is needed in Crown Point,” Pace said. “And it would be such a shame to have 60 people decide for 34,000 people in Crown Point for this shelter. It would be a shame for the community not to have the shelter here, especially because we’re working with the St. Jude House so survivors of domestic violence know when they go get help, they can know their pet is safe. Or for the police department to have a place where if they find an animal, or there’s a car accident or an emergency or even in disasters that there’s a place for them to take these animals. And that’s the reason we’re putting it in that location.”
The property is an open field, currently Residential Zone 1, that lies in the area of Burrell Drive and Court Street, just north of St. Jude House and across the street from the Dean and Barbara White Southlake YMCA.
Pace said she and her team chose the property because it was grouped among other nonprofit facilities and it had a buffer of a wooded perimeter and a pond.
BZA Vice-Chairman Jeremy Taylor made a motion for an unfavorable recommendation for the nonprofit’s petition. BZA member John Marshall seconded the recommendation, with the remaining members voting in unison.
“The proposed petition and operation would introduce a different intensity of use from that of existing surrounding properties,” Taylor said during the meeting. “And the setbacks, buffering, fencing, landscaping and other mitigation measures are insufficient to adequately protect the adjoining properties.”
Rick Mossell, owner of Heartland Builders of Northwest Indiana, is a business partner with Golden Meadows Subdivision, located directly south of the proposed nonprofit facility.
“We bought that property knowing that it was zoned residential,” Mossell said during public comment. “We didn’t have any inkling that this is going to go in or that it would be allowed to have a bunch of barking dogs outside of a facility, in outside kennels. And to say, ‘I’m going to build a wall big enough to make sure you can’t hear it,’ that’s a bunch of malarky. The comment that there’s some trees there. …You cannot tell me that there’s not going to be outside dogs and they’re not going to make any noise. ‘We’re going to make them feel good, and they’re never going to bark.’ I don’t believe that. So obviously we’re 100% against the zoning change…”
Diana Murray, a Golden Meadows resident, explained that she believes the location will still bring a noise problem, despite the woods and distance.
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“I just want you to know in our neighborhood, we heard this summer the kids playing in that area from the YMCA,” Murray said. “The’ Y’ has a summer program right there, and we heard the kids playing. It was not minor. We could hear distinctly what the kids were saying. And that was not a problem; it was partially throughout the day and we knew when school started, it would stop. …When the fair came, we could hear the fairground noises, and between our house and the fairgrounds is multiple trees and land.”
According to New Leash on Life’s engineering firm, DVG Team Inc., the nearest southwest house is 650 feet away, with a 50 to 140-foot buffer of trees and the nearest northern residence lies 320 feet away from the facility, including 250 feet of trees. The firm said another home lies northwest across the pond about 750 feet away with 150 feet of trees.
New Leash on Life project manager Caleb Kreis said the engineers have worked to mitigate residents’ concerns by modeling their designs on state-of-the-art facilities that prioritize stress and noise-reduction.
“All the architects and the general contractors that we’re partnering with are nationally renowned, specifically for the design of this type of facility,” said Kreis. “It’s an animal shelter and also a low-cost veterinary clinic. ‘Pet adoption resource center’ is the encompassing term on our logo, and the truth is, there is not much of this that exists in the United States. It’s kind of a groundbreaking thing that helps the community and helps the animals. And the people involved in building it have built similar facilities.”
Anna Schoon, executive director of St. Jude House, came to voice her support during public comment.
“As Donna said earlier, 69 percent of people have pets,” Schoon said. “Half of them choose to delay leaving their dangerous situation because they are concerned for their pets’ safety. I wrote my letter of support. We were excited when I heard about this location because it means that a survivor who is worried about their pet can have their pet next door to them and go visit them everyday. We’re also excited that other survivors might be able to volunteer there, walk the dogs and be with animals, which is healing for people who experienced violence. So I just wanted to make it clear, St. Jude House is in support of this rezoning.”
Another nonprofit partner, the Crown Point Community Foundation, plans to build a facility on the Court Street-facing acreage of the same stretch of property New Leash on Life hopes to build on. The Crown Point Community Foundation is working through their due-diligence phase with the YMCA, which currently owns the land.
Mary Nielsen, Crown Point Community Foundation president, said the organization plans to build a single-story office complex on the 6.27-acre lot, which would have an address of 12410 Marshall Street. Nielsen said the land’s natural beauty makes it an ideal space for walking paths for people and pets.
“The CPCF welcomes New Leash on Life on becoming a philanthropic neighbor,” Nielsen said. “As this south corridor of Crown Point has expanded into becoming a place where for-purpose organizations are calling home, including the Crown Point High School, Eisenhower Elementary School, St. Matthias Church, the Community Help Network, St. Jude House, In-Pact, Franciscan Health, the YMCA, and others, we believe this location would also be a great place for New Lease on Life’s vision to serve our community.”
The City Council unanimously approved the first and second readings for Crown Point Community Foundation’s change of zone petition from Residential Zone 1 to a zoning called Open Space Type 1, a designation typically given to community centers, parks, and civic facilities.
Recently, Nielsen said the Crown Point Plan Commission approved their site development plan, with hopes of moving forward to be in their new facility by mid-2027.
Anna Ortiz is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.