The Marshall County Commissioners opened a public hearing last week that concerned a Planned Unit Development (PUD) of 33 shipping container homes.
Plan Director Ty Adley went over the plan for the development at 3919 Michigan Road in Plymouth.
Adley stated, “The applicant is seeking to develop a 33 lot gated residential lot in place of an existing 16 out of 30 lot mobile home community. The mobile home community has come under concerns with the state and the developer is seeking to purchase it and remediate the environmental issues. The proposed 33 homes would be made of a combination of shipping containers providing structural secure homes that will be signed off by engineers/architects ensuring Indiana Residential Code is met.”
Additionally, the existing driveway will house a new water line and be regraded to make way for a brick road with two drive lanes and two sidewalks. The gated entrance will add security but will allow for emergency vehicle access. There will be a community building as well.
The Marshall County Planning Commission voted 5-3 with a favorable recommendation to the commissioners with several conditions as indicated by the Technical Review Committee.
Thomas Landgrebe stated that he has purchased the property and explained that he will be bringing a substantial piece to the community and addressed the materials being used to construct the home builds.
“A shipping container is painted Corten Steel,” explained Landgrebe. “What is Corten Steel? I spent 10 years or more in the steel industry and Corten Steel has been designed to have a special purpose. Once it starts to have any kind of corrosion, it actually repairs itself. If it did ever have a leak, it’s self-healing.”
There were no public comments during the public hearing.
The commissioners asked about sewer in the area. Landgrebe said there is a septic field offsite that services the area which he said has been inspected and passed inspection. He said fire protection and hydrants were addressed with the fire chief with plans to construct a new pump house and adequate plans were drafted.
The commissioners unanimously passed an ordinance on first reading that would approve the PUD application. Commission President Stan Klotz said he said he will be looking more into the project as he is not completely satisfied with it, but approved the first reading of the ordinance. The commissioners will look at the second reading of the ordinance at their next meeting Monday, August 21.
