The Portage City Council is taking another stab at annexing 38 acres after repealing an attempt to do so last year.
Providence Real Estate wants to build a subdivision on the 120-acre Carlson Farm property. Already, about 80 acres are within the city limits, having been annexed last year.
Late last year, the council approved the annexation but delayed approval of the fiscal plan for it until the newly elected council members could consider it. But the fiscal plan is supposed to be approved first, so the council is going through the process again, using an ordinance that includes both the fiscal plan and annexation in a single document.
Attorney Greg Bouwer, representing Providence Real Estate Development, and Providence Vice President Doug Ehens walked the council through the plans for the new subdivision, though the plans would have to go through the Plan Commission and possibly the Board of Zoning Appeals before the council would weigh in on those plans. The issue now is simply whether to annex the additional 38 acres.
“We want to be upfront with the city. We want to show what our intentions are,” Bouwer said.
“It’s the best thing to be upfront with the city of Portage what you’re wanting to do,” Mayor Austin Bonta said. That transparency fast-tracks the process.
Providence is proposing a 235-unit subdivision with a mix of traditional single-family homes, paired villas and cottage homes. “We’re trying to do an overall community here,” Bouwer said, to target various age groups and growing families.
Ehens said the single-story cottage homes would have exterior maintenance included in the cost. The square footage for the larger homes would range up to 3,000.
Prices would vary, depending on options, but could go up to $400,000 or more for traditional single-family homes. “We have a lot of options to choose from,” Ehens said.
Almost every undeveloped residential area in the city is zoned R1, Bonta said. The 38 acres under consideration now would be added to the city with an R1 zone.
However, Providence is likely to seek permission for a planned unit development if the annexation goes through. That would allow a zoning category custom-tailored for that development only.
A public hearing will be held when the council votes on the proposed annexation.
A special meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. May 28 to reestablish the cumulative capital rate before the May 31 deadline. “This year, we’re running a little bit behind establishing it,” Clerk-Treasurer Liz Modesto said.
That property tax rate is at .0432. The city proposes to increase it to .05, or one-sixth of a cent.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
