Frequently Asked Questions

Before the Plan Commission can recommend approval of the Kenmara PUD amendment (which means it then goes to the Town Council for final approval), Munster's zoning code requires specific findings that traffic and utility services are adequate.

Those findings matter because a development can comply with zoning rules while still placing significant demands on roads, water, wastewater, and electrical infrastructure.

As the application now stands, the traffic study has not been completed and the utility confirmation in the record was prepared for an earlier 720,000-square-foot office project.

July 14 is the public hearing. It is the one opportunity for public comment before the commission makes a recommendation to Town Council.

Residents who understand what the commission must find will be better prepared to engage.

Here is what the code requires:

• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱:
  • Before the Plan Commission can recommend approval of a PUD amendment, Munster's Character Based Zoning Code requires the commission to make specific findings on twelve factors.  The governing standard is Section 26-6.804.L.9.
  • Two of those twelve factors are especially relevant to the Kenmara amendment.
  • Factor VIII requires a finding that existing and proposed thoroughfares are suitable and adequate to carry anticipated traffic.
  • Factor IX requires a finding that existing and proposed utility services are adequate for the proposed development.
  • Those are not MCW's criteria. They are the Town's criteria, cited by staff in the same report that recommended scheduling the public hearing.

• What the Application Says - The application narrative addresses traffic and utilities:
  • On traffic, the narrative says a revised traffic study will be completed when the site plan is amended and employee counts are verified. 
  • It also says the proposed use would generate less traffic than the earlier office development plan. The narrative does not identify the employee counts or operational assumptions underlying that comparison, and the revised study supporting it has not yet been completed.
  • On utilities, the narrative says the Hammond Sanitary District has confirmed adequate wastewater service at the Evergreen Park Lift Station for up to 720,000 square feet of occupied commercial office space.
  • Not technology park use.
  • Not data center use.
  • Just occupied commercial office space.
  • That confirmation is tied to the earlier development concept, not to the use currently before the commission.
  • To understand why that matters, it helps to know what the amendment proposes. 
  • The amendment does not authorize a data center. It establishes the standards a data center would have to meet. It also creates a separate approval process, called a Special Exception, that a data center would have to clear before it could be built.
  • That Special Exception process has its own requirements. 
  • Under the amendment's standards, a data center application would need to include a separate approval letter from the Hammond Sanitary District, a water management plan, water supply verification, and written confirmation from NIPSCO on electrical capacity.
  • Those reviews come later, and only if a data center applies. 
  • They are separate from the finding the commission must make now. 
  • To recommend approval of the amendment itself, the commission must find that utility services are adequate. 
  • That is Factor IX, and it applies at this stage. 
  • The only wastewater confirmation identified in the application was prepared for 720,000 square feet of commercial office space. But the PUD amendment does not propose commercial office space. The application does not identify a wastewater confirmation for the use now under consideration.

• What Happened at the June 9th Preliminary Hearing:
  • The June 9 hearing was preliminary only. 
  • No public comment was taken.
  • The commission voted unanimously to schedule the July 14 public hearing.
  • No commissioner asked about the pending traffic study. 
  • No commissioner asked about the utility confirmation, including whether it covered the proposed use.  No commissioner asked about NIPSCO capacity.
  • Those issues may be addressed at the public hearing. They were not addressed on June 9.

• What July 14th IS, and what it IS NOT:
  • Most of the public conversation about Kenmara has focused on whether a data center would be good for Munster.  That is not the question before the Plan Commission on July 14.
  • The commission's job at this stage is much narrower. It must determine whether the amendment meets the standards required by the zoning code, including the findings related to traffic and utility adequacy. 
  • The traffic study has not been completed. The utility confirmation in the record was prepared for the earlier office development. July 14 is the hearing where the record on those questions will either be built or not.
  • And even if those findings are ultimately made, another approval step remains.
  • Even if the amendment is approved, the process does not end there. The proposed standards require another approval before any permits can be issued. The Town Council or Redevelopment Commission must separately approve the economic terms and conditions associated with the use.
  • Those are two separate bodies under the law, but their membership overlaps substantially. The Redevelopment Commission includes the same Town Council members along with an additional school board appointee. 
  • The updated Baker Tilly economic impact study intended to inform those terms has not yet been completed. Under the reimbursement agreement authorizing the study, the identity of some or all prospective tenants may be omitted from it. As a result, the economic terms of a data center deal could be approved before residents know who the tenant is.
  • Residents who want to ask those questions before the commission makes its recommendation to Town Council have one chance to do so on the record, that opportunity is July 14.