An Indianapolis man who wants to turn 25 acres of woodland into a mixed-use development with a small goat farm was asked by the Porter Plan Commission to have a professional traffic study performed and provide more details on his ambitious plan.
Kevin Spellacy is seeking a Planned Unit Development (PUD) agreement for 25 acres off U.S. 20 in Porter, which runs behind Leroy’s Hot Stuff.
The Plan Commission decided Wednesday to continue a hearing until next month to give Spellacy more time. After the commission votes on its recommendation, the Town Council would make the final decision on a PUD agreement.
Spellacy has said he wants to start his phased development with the construction of townhouse apartments and a few short-term rental homes. Eventually, the plan calls for a small-scale goat farm alongside a farmer’s market, restaurant and event center. He aims to make it an “agri-tourism” attraction.
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Neighbors expressed their concern about the impact the new development would have on traffic.
Tanya Smith said it’s already difficult to cross U.S. 20 at Oak Hill Road, where she lives, because of the amount of traffic.
Paul Poparad, a longtime Wagner Road resident, said the Wagner Road intersection with U.S. 20 is already dangerous.
“I have seen a lot of accidents causing harm to the public,” Poparad said.
Poparad said he wants an accurate accounting of what the goat farm development would mean for traffic in the area.
Spellacy said he did his own traffic study using ChatGPT and figured there would be about 350 daily car trips from folks living in the townhouse apartments.
That didn’t satisfy plan commission members, who wanted a professional traffic study done.
One of the issues to be addressed is the placement of an entrance and an exit lane to accommodate traffic.
Rob Albrecht-Mallinger, president of the plan commission, asked Spellacy to provide more precision in his plan, particularly regarding the property’s hilly topography.
Albrecht-Mallinger said that the plan commission would also like to know the sequence of how Spellacy would execute construction, beyond the first step of building townhouse apartments.
Michael Barry, the town’s director of development and building superintendent, agreed that Spellacy’s plan needed more development.
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“We like the idea, we just like to see it fleshed out a little more,” Barry said.
Barry said one issue that is settled regards sewage treatment for the property. He said that Chesterton has the capacity to handle sewage from the property, though pump stations in the area would have to be upgraded.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.