I’ve long had a disdain for the selfish, myopic and opportunity-driven perspective of the Porter County government. From the beginning of the 20th century until the aftermath of the Watergate scandal the Congressional office office fought the dream of the Indiana Dunes Sand Dunes National Park. Sadly, much of the mid-20th century Porter county population would have rather bulldozed the jewel along the lakeshore. This disdain for the natural wonder was led by the power brokers in Valparaiso and alas so many local citizens too. There could be an academic course on this tragedy, but I’ll suggest much easier to read Duel for the Dunes. That being said, the March 17th BZA meeting in the Valparaiso Administration building had scores of Furnessville, Beverly Shores and other concerned Pine Township and Westchester neighbors waiting for over four hours for a variance request for a property that has recently been cited for criminal environmental destruction.
We waited and waited from our scheduled 5:30 PM hearing to nearly 10PM. When we finally had our opportunity one of the five five board members suggested we not be redundant at such a late hour as he held up a ream of paper, all letters in protest of the proposed variance request. Then a paltry display of letters of support. Nevertheless, those of us who had waited for hours, about a dozen or so spoke our minds. The bloody highway, transgressions of the property owners, sewage and water concerns were all addressed.
What is proposed is an RV Campground on the corner of Kemil Road and US Highway 20. Alas the 1880 Grieger Farm house and barn were allowed to decay by the current owners who took possession two years ago buying the four plus acre site for $48K. Keep in mind this generations old homestead was left out of the scope of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore only because the family protested the eminent domain takeover for the park expansion as did the other residents of the Furnessville triangle and a few satellite properties. Sadly, the Grieger property fell out of the family’s protection and this real estate was immediately raided when the new owner filled in a pond; a wetlands violation! Worse inches from sensitive wetlands and the tamarack swamp of the neighboring dunes the landfill was highway waste from 421 and raised the land grade four feet causing flooding for the next door neighbor to the west.
One neighbor in the corridor of the Valparaiso Administration building said the Army Corp of Engineers was aware of the landfill but their docket is so full, it takes five years before they can tackle any new issues, and hence four years from now they will address the destroyed wetlands on this site.
Other neighbors recalled the giant steel coil that fell off a rig and rolled onto the very site where campers are to be in leisure. The wayward unraveling coil and presented a steel path all the way to a tree where it finally stopped. My next door neighbors said the lilac bush was their no-go-beyond point as cars had previously come up the hill landing in their front lawn. That bush sits 100 feet up hill from the edge of the highway, but campers will be inches from the bloody highway, with a real fatality body count of five in recent memory between Schoolhouse and Kemil Road.
Testimony after testimony approached the microphone on St. Patricks day, but the BZA except for Dr. Brian Damitz (who made the motion to deny the variance request) sat there like sphinxes unmoved to second a motion to stop this land use proposal. Luther Williams said he wasn’t in favor as knew how bad the antiquate highway was through the dunes, but we sat there like waiting for one of the judges on the Voice to press their red button to second the motion to deny. No one did. Marvin Brickner earlier seemed enamored with the camp ground, suggesting that all RV people he knows are wealthy. It was rather incongruous Brickner’s complimentary suggestions to the petitioner while scores of folks just waited for hours to watch this amazing sideshow, our testimonies why this proposal is so wrong on so many levels, obviously not making an impact on him.
Observing from a poetic gallery, the current park superintendent is noting the proceedings and has discredited the petitioner that he would be supplying extra rangers to this proposed camp ground on property outside of the government’s domain. Hence thereby noting the variance petitioner had lied to the BZA. The Save the Dunes people, are taking note as well, except they had been involved in the destruction of the wetlands report.
In the end Dr. Brian Damitz seemed to be cognizant of the peoples wishes. Luther Williams needs to get a testosterone shot and perhaps there is hidden wisdom to emerge with the other three Jim Clarida, and chair Debbie Kerr-Cook. Interestingly, there hadn’t been such a gathering of dunes neighbors since the infamous (now retired) park superintendent tried to close down Furnessville Road. Marvin Brickner reminds me of the myopic Porter County mindset hence why we have a national park that looks like a hopscotch game. Similar myopia from a previous time, sold the people, that Bethlehem Steel, that in the middle of the night destroyed five thousand acres of pristine duneland to moot any bird sanctuary, was a testament of pollution free industry peacefully cohabiting with sensitive natural habitats. Obviously, a shit show of lies.
The obvious solution is for the neighborhood to have the land buffering the park, down zoned so this situation doesn’t reemerge every time we lose another old residence not usurped in the last park expansion. Also, there is the option of purchasing the land for Shirley Heinze Land Trust as they preserve their properties as nature preserves and not controlled by the evolving park use interpretations that had gone from nature trails to include camp grounds, gun ranges, entertainment venues etc.
We shall see if the BZA Sphinx is moved by another outpouring of dunes residents on April 21st
MusetteLewry 