Lake County Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting Summary - October 23, 2026

The Lake County Board of Zoning Appeals met with four of five voting members present. Although the agenda and transcript identify the meeting as Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 6:30 p.m., the supplied meeting timestamp is 2026-10-23 20:15:00+00:00; this summary uses that supplied date. The board reordered the agenda, approved a residential side-yard accessory building variance, and then approved a battery energy storage system (BESS) special exception subject to Plan Commission conditions. The agenda lists the residential petitioners as Kenneth J. and Beth D. Puent; the transcript occasionally transcribes the surname as "Pruant" or "Pruent." The BESS owner is identified as Van Kalker Family Limited Partnership, which the transcript also renders as "Van Calker."

Communications and Agenda Reordering

• Staff noted that only four of the usual five BZA members were present to decide cases, and applicants were offered the option to defer if they preferred a full board.
• The board voted unanimously (all aye) to flip the agenda, hearing petition 26-V-23 (Puent) before 26-SE-06 (Van Kalker/Foundry Works).

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public testimony was offered for or against the Puent variance.
• Kristen Woodward (Eagle Creek Township resident, 4941 East 165th Ave, Hebron) opposed further approval pending review. She argued the Foundry Works rezoning failed mandatory notice and application requirements: Lake County UDO section 154-8-080B11 requires mailing notices to county officials, township trustee, soil and water conservation, 911, sheriff, fire departments, and municipalities within 1.5 miles; she said records showed only neighboring property owners were notified at rezoning. She also said section 154-8-080B9 required a preliminary emergency response plan at rezoning, not only at the special exception stage. She said Eagle Creek Township has executed firefighting service agreements with Hebron, Lowell, Shelby, and Lakedale, while the applicant's emergency documents named only Hebron and Lowell; she noted Shelby's contract expressly requires responses to all alarms. She cited the October 15, 2026 White County Circuit Court decision in Snyder v. White County Commissioners and the Indiana Supreme Court's Town of Beverly Shores Planning Commission v. NRIT decision, and formally requested no further approval until county council reviews the deficiencies and determines corrective action. She asked that her submitted documents be made part of the record.
• AJ Martin (1615 Colorado Street, Eden) raised safety and community concerns. He questioned how remote monitoring would function during power, storm, or Wi-Fi outages; what future fire department equipment needs might be; and why soil testing would occur only after an event rather than periodically. He stated that families in the Tri-Creek school area do not want the project this close to their homes until it is fully engineered.
• Dr. Andy Anderson, superintendent of Tri-Creek School Corporation, expressed support: the district would welcome Foundry Works into the community if Lake County officials determine all expectations and the approval process have been met, noting the company offered financial support responsive to district concerns.
• Chris Law, president/CEO of the Lake County Economic Alliance and Lowell resident, expressed support, citing union labor, work with the county planning commission, inclusion in the county's TIF district at that intersection, and economic development benefits for South Lake County.

Discussion Items

• Puent variance (26-V-23): Kenneth Puent, owner/petitioner of 525 S. Lakeview Drive in Cedar Creek Township, testified he sought a variance to demolish a current structure in the side yard that is in violation of the setback and to rebuild essentially on the same space, correcting the setback by moving or angling it into compliance. The board had no questions, and the public had none.
• Foundry Works BESS (26-SE-06): Applicant representatives Ryerson Burkritz, Lance, and Jim Griffin presented. Key project facts included a proposed $300 million investment; union construction jobs through a letter of intent with the Northwestern Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council; a community benefit agreement; local grid capacity benefits at no cost to Lake County; lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry with no nickel, manganese, or cobalt; NFPA 855 compliance; an Indiana Department of Homeland Security permit in process; two-phase first responder training with continuous refreshers; segmented, externally accessible, non-walk-in enclosures; remote monitoring; landscape screening with tree spacing cut in half beyond ordinance requirements; stormwater basin redirection above the topographic contour to reduce off-site flooding; lined basins with shutoff valves; and third-party testing and removal of potentially contaminated water. The applicant also said the project would be deconstructed if the neighboring NIPSCO substation is decommissioned.
• Board discussion: One board member noted the high cost of firefighter gear and decontamination, encouraged the applicant to support the fire department as well as schools, and asked about first responder preparedness. The applicant responded that the local fire department had not identified specific unmet equipment needs, that the project would have two to three on-site personnel at the operations and maintenance building, and that 24/7 monitoring would continue remotely.
• Procedural response: Jim Griffin responded to Woodward's objections by stating the applicant noticed a discrepancy between the County Council-passed BESS ordinance and its UDO codification. After discussions with county officials identified as Ned and Christian Bartholomew, the applicant says they confirmed the County Council version controlled, and that the mailings and documents Woodward cited were required only at the special exception stage, not the rezoning. He stated certificates of mailing for the special exception were shared with the county.

Key Outcomes

• Approved 26-V-23, the Puent variance, to allow an accessory building in the side yard for personal use, including findings of fact; the motion passed by voice vote with all ayes.
• Approved 26-SE-06, the Foundry Works Energy Storage special exception for a Battery Energy Storage System in a CD district, including findings of fact and the conditions adopted in the Plan Commission recommendation; the motion passed by voice vote with all ayes. The applicant was instructed that the next step is site development plan approval as required by the conditions.
• The meeting adjourned after the agenda was completed.