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Friday, 07 August 2009 |
By ANGELA WEAVER
Staff Writer
ST. MARYS — A state department recently approved the permit for a housing development along the lake.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency sent out a public notice recently stating the organization issued the 401 Water Quality Certification to Southshore Acres Inc. last week.
"They have what they need from us to start the project," OEPA spokesperson Dina Pierce said. "It allows them to start the work, like filling in the canal."
The OEPA held a public hearing regarding Southshore Acres' application for the permit for its proposed residential development Water Color Estates.
According to the public notice, there were three comments made to be discussed at the hearing — the existing boat channels on the site and what additional channels would be needed for the development, a suggested wetland inventory and a suggested mitigation be completed before development.
Pierce noted the approved plan involves filling in one of the existing channels and extending two of the existing channels, the applicant studied the wetlands on site using the OEPA's Ohio Rapid Assessment Method and most of the mitigation required for the permit must be completed before filling in the waters on the site.
"Essentially, we dealt with (the issues)," she said. "They're required to stay within the limits we approved."
Pierce said she did not know when the project would get underway.
"This is the certificate they need for water impacts," she said. "Whether they have other permits, I don't know. Our only involvement is issuing water quality certifications."
She said the OEPA would not be monitoring the site and would only monitor if there was a complaint issued.
"We normally don't have those issues," she said.
Pierce noted the work the development company has made through the years.
"They've done a lot of work in planning," she said.
It was the company's second time applying for the 401 permit for the site. Veryl Cisco, the real estate broker on the project, said the project is a long time coming.
"A lot of money has been spent to get here," he said. "They've been working probably for 10 years and really heavy in the last five."
Cisco said the development will help the area.
"It's all going to clean up the area immensely," he said. "There's a lot of erosion problems, and he will be placing rip rap."
Cisco said the development will not be finished any time in the near future.
"We'll go in stages — we're not going to rush it," he said. "We don't see any construction happening until fall 2010."
Cisco said Southshore Acres Inc. is waiting on one last permit — from the Army Corps of Engineers.
"They're working across the U.S. with hurricane and flood damage," he said.
The development will be a gated, single family residential unit.
"It'll be a very nice community," Cisco said, adding that Rick Swartz, the president of Southshore Acres Inc., has been looking at condominiums. "Seventy-five percent of it will be single-family homes. We're excited about it."
There are a total of 5,133 acres of jurisdictional wetlands on the site. The site consists of three parcels, totaling 48 acres, with the surrounding wetlands include a category three, category one and two category two wetlands.
Tom Rampe with the Lake Improvement Association said the group opposes the granting of the permit.
"The LIA is disappointed that this permit is going to be issued to permit the destruction of wetlands adjacent to the lake," he said. "And it appears that some of the issues we brought up at public hearings haven't been addressed." |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 01 September 2009 )
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