Portage Mayor Austin Bonta changed his mind about a park for Cardinal Crossing residents, but too late to put it where they expected.
Bonta spoke Monday at the Plan Commission meeting where developer Mel Gore asked for permission to turn the two acres set aside for a park nearly 20 years ago into five buildable lots for homes.
Earlier this year, Gore asked Bonta when the city was going to finally develop a park on the acreage set aside for one when the subdivision was approved in 2007. Bonta wrote back, saying the city had no plans to build a park there and couldn’t afford it anyway.
“In 2007, that was seven parks directors ago,” Bonta said.
He brought everyone up to speed at Monday’s meeting. ”I messed up there” by writing that letter before going door to door to ask if anyone had thought there would be a park there eventually.
At last month’s Plan Commission meeting, residents testified that they were promised when they bought their homes that a park would be developed there.
But the city had no records of that promise, Bonta said. It wasn’t in the 2009 comprehensive plan drafted two years later, and it wasn’t on the 2017 master plan for the parks department. No one on the Park Board or parks department had any knowledge of the expectation that a park would be built there.
More Top Picks Tents Backpacking
After last month’s meeting, Bonta met with neighbors and apologized for not realizing they believed the park was a done deal.
One resident asked Bonta how long it would take to put a park there. “I said five years would be unlikely, 10 years maybe,” Bonta said.
If there is a desire for one of the lots to be donated to the city, he would be comfortable with accepting it, but the Park Board would have to decide that.
Adjacent to Cardinal Crossing subdivision is land owned by Portage Township Schools that currently has no access. “There’s probably not going to be a new school there between now and the next century,” Bonta said.
While Bonta would prefer a park on Gore’s two acres, he said, the board can’t legally deny him permission to put homes there.
“Know that I’m working on getting a park in this area no matter what,” he said. “In this case, I listened too late,”
Attorney Todd Leeth, representing the developer, said a lot of money was spent on engineering work for the plan after Bonta’s letter saying a park wouldn’t be developed there.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to tell you we’re not interested in setting aside part of the 2.14 acres,” he said.
“We believe the school will develop to the north,” Leeth said, and a playground would be built. “My home is four doors from a school, and my grandchildren and I use the playground all the time.”
“I don’t believe there is any legal reason that you can deny this plat,” Leeth said, as it meets the zoning code for lot size, width and area. “You don’t have the ability legally to think it should be a park.”
Commission attorney Scott McClure confirmed the commission had no choice but to limit its vote on whether it meets the city’s requirements.
Member Bill Moran said he voted against the plan last month to encourage talks between the citizens, developer and mayor. That happened. He’s glad to hear Bonta is working toward a park there. “This particular mayor, I have a whole lot of trust in,” he said.
In other business, the commission agreed to shift the property line 20 feet west for the Chick-fil-A to be developed where Lynn’s Furniture and Mattress stood. Chick-fil-A needs the extra room, and Dutch Bros Coffee, to be built next door, doesn’t need it.
The furniture store and the Steak ‘n Shake next door will both be razed for the two new businesses to be built.
The commission also allowed Simon CRE to shrink a planned building after PetSmart backed out of a plan to open a store on the property where the new Target store is being developed.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.