Lake County Plan Commission Meeting – July 15, 2026
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Lake County Plan Commission Meeting – July 15, 2026
The Lake County Plan Commission met on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at 5:30 p.m., in the Commissioners' Courtroom/Council Chamber. The agenda included approval of minutes, two public hearings under new business, two study sessions, and a public comment period. All formal votes taken during the meeting were unanimous.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes from the May 2026 meeting were approved by unanimous voice vote.
Communications
- Attorney Irak reported on the long-pending lawsuit Lake County Plan Commission v. Aaron and Rachel Hacker. He stated that as of July 6, 2026, all required permits had been issued by both the Lake County Surveyor's Office and the Plan Commission. The case was dismissed without prejudice under the Indiana Supreme Court's Pathways program, preserving the Plan Commission's right to refile if the Hackers fail to comply with permits in a timely and proper manner. Compliance monitoring will continue.
- The County Council approved the lighting ordinance on first and second reading the previous day (July 14, 2026), establishing performance standards for lighting.
New Business
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26-XP-01 PC – Pasture Paradise (Michael and Amanda Stevens, Owners/Petitioners)
Request for a one-year extension of primary plat approval for the Pasture Paradise subdivision at 9311 E. 137th Avenue, Winfield Township. The petitioner's attorney explained that fall weather delayed required planting and spring grading on the detention pond; he requested the extension and noted only about a month of work remained. The commission granted the one-year extension unanimously. -
26-ZC-08 PC – Peterson Property (Charles E., Michael W., and Mark R. Peterson, Owners/Petitioners)
Request for a zone change from A-1 (Agricultural) to R-1 (Residential Single-Dwelling) for 1904 Belshaw Road, Cedar Creek Township, to allow a proposed residential subdivision. Petitioner Michael Peterson stated the four-acre parcel is surrounded by residential development, with several nearby properties already rezoned to R-1. He noted the Lake County Health Department approved the request and the Highway Department and Surveyor's Office had no objections. The commission voted unanimously to recommend a favorable decision to the County Council.
Study Sessions
Note: The agenda listed four study sessions (26-SS-11 through 26-SS-14), but the record shows only 26-SS-13 and 26-SS-14 were presented; the other two were not discussed in the available transcript.
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26-SS-13 PC – FBN Properties (Richard Rueth, Owner; Torrenga Engineering, Petitioner)
Study session for a special exception to allow deposit of solid fill on property approximately one mile east of Cline Street on the north side of W. 114th Court, Center Township. The owner explained that fill was brought in to bring the ground up to grade around his house and to shape a backyard pond area. He stated he did not realize a permit was required because the property is not in a floodplain or wetland. He said water will be contained on his property and a berm will be built along a BP pipeline easement. Since the petitioner's engineer was absent, the commission agreed to wait for the formal special exception application; no action was taken. -
26-SS-14 PC – Van Kalker Family Limited Partnership / Foundry Works Energy Storage, LLC (Petitioner)
Study session for a special exception to allow a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on property approximately 2/10 mile north of E. 181st Avenue (State Road 2) on the east side of Clay Street, Eagle Creek Township. Staff noted that adjacent property owners had requested a deferral, but study sessions are informational and no formal action was required. The petitioner presented a 200-megawatt battery project on 40.29 acres within a previously approved solar footprint, with a battery yard of roughly 10 acres, all facilities set back at least 200 feet, and battery enclosures more than 1,500 feet from the nearest occupied building. The project represents a $300 million investment, an estimated $45 million in property taxes over 20 years, over 100 construction jobs, and 2–3 permanent jobs, with union labor pledged. The petitioner said the project would be contracted with AES Indiana, not data centers. The commission discussed noise mitigation (petitioner changed to quieter battery technology, reducing projected sound from 50 to 47 decibels at the adjacent church), containment for potential thermal events, fire and hazmat response training, and the construction of the NIPSCO substation. The petitioner agreed to provide additional information on burn temperatures and to investigate who constructed the substation.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Sarah Ligan (Woods Park subdivision, unincorporated Calumet Township) expressed frustration with the Lake County Sewers program, saying her front yard has been torn up since June 2025, the sewer line was only connected two weeks prior, and no one can provide a timeline. She also stated her sewer bill is $85 per month, which she said is unusually high, and asked for completion timelines.
- Pam Cokis (near the church in Eagle Creek Township) opposed the NIPSCO substation and proposed battery storage, citing noise, traffic, and loss of a quiet rural home. She said she hoped officials would consider residents' quality of life, and said she would be willing to be bought out.
- Katie Hurst (Eagle Creek Township) said she lives along Singleton Ditch and has over 20 acres of FEMA flood zone on her property. She said her property flooded during the June 12 storms and emphasized that flooding is a recurring issue due to high water table and former marshland.
- Kristen Woodward (E. 165th Avenue) raised concerns about significant ditch erosion, flooding across Clay Street and 165th Avenue, and heavy truck traffic using the road when the weigh station is closed, causing road degradation. She said her property was partially underwater and flooding has increased over five years.
- Gregor Drobenek (Miller Beach) asked about the County's noise ordinance and recommended that any noise measurements use DBC or DBZ weighting rather than DBA, arguing A-weighting discounts low-frequency noise. He said "DB" without a weighting standard is meaningless.
- Mrs. Connell (Woods Park area, King Township) complained that residents are parking five to eight cars in front yards, that code enforcement has not acted, and that this lowers property values and raises insurance. She asked what to do next.
- An unnamed speaker offered a positive comment, congratulating the commission on having two working elevators in the building that evening.
Key Outcomes
- Approved the May 2026 meeting minutes.
- Unanimously granted a one-year extension of primary plat approval for Pasture Paradise (26-XP-01).
- Unanimously recommended to the County Council a favorable decision on the Peterson zone change from A-1 to R-1 (26-ZC-08).
- Held study sessions on solid fill (26-SS-13) and battery energy storage (26-SS-14); both petitioners intend to file formal applications, with the BESS application expected on August 10, 2026.
- A subcommittee meeting to update the data center ordinance was scheduled for Monday, July 20, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.
- Public comments on sewer project delays, flooding, code enforcement, and noise will be referred to the appropriate county departments.
Meeting Transcript
It would be in the best interest of the board here now. All right, good evening. Good evening, everyone. I'm going to call this mission of this uh meeting of the plan commission to order if we can all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. My Pledge of Allegiance is the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands. Thank you. The following is the emergency exit announcement. In case of emergency, exit the commissioner's courtroom, proceed to the stairs, go to the second floor and exit the building. Do not enter it all there in an emergency. If you require assistance, a plan commission employee will escort or assist you. Please side on sending cell phones during this meeting. You receive a call during this meeting. Please excuse yourself with as little disruption as possible to these proceedings. All right, thank you. We'll go. Rebecca Pellets? Here. Christina Miller. Jim Metro. Can you listen? Here. All cancer? Here. Here. Here. We have a call. Communications. Did you want to turn it over to Attorney Irak? You want to make your presentation? Good evening, everyone. It's been a long time. Haven't seen a lot of you for a long time. Good to be back. We have a real attorney. Oh well, yes. I mean, I I understand that, but they're still paying me, so you know I gotta hang around a little bit. The reason I'm here tonight, uh, just briefly, we had a meeting this week. Hi, Commissioner. We had a meeting this week in regards to a lawsuit that's been pending for some time. It was the Lake County Plan Commission versus Aaron and Rachel Hacker. It was a situation where a lawsuit was filed, an injunctive relief lawsuit was filed by the Plan Commission in regards to allegations of some junk on the property and needed cleaning up, but the majority of it the the probably the most important part of the case was a fill issue that was brought on the property without the proper permitting, without the process going through the surveyor as well as the plan commission. And what the injunctive relief petition and lawsuit entailed was ordering then asking the court to order them to comply with all of the ordinances of Lake County. Well, I'm happy to report that as of um July 6th, all the permits had been issued by both appropriate bodies, both the surveyor's office as well as the plan commission, and as far as I know, the work is has or is going to be commencing within a short time. The um it's my intent to monitor it. I know Bill's office is gonna monitor it and test, as well as Ned's office in regards to compliance with the ordinances. Now, last week we also discussed what occurred is I had to dismiss the case without prejudice. And what that means is the case the lawsuit was dismissed, and you might say, well, if they're still in the process of doing this work, why did we dismiss it? Well, Judge Parents Court is where the quick the case was at, downstairs. There's a program called Pathways, and it's instituted by the Supreme Court, and it was designed to streamline the process of courts. You know, as everyone jokes about if you have a lawsuit, it takes five years to get anywhere, and that's that happens, and I understand that.
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