The HIGHER

Standard April
Need Help?
Plan Commission:
The Due Process
Builders Association of
Northeast Indiana

State of Indiana:
www.ba-ni.com
(260) 665-8921

Legislative Updates you

need to know
Indiana Builders Association
BANI to Host
www.buildindiana.org
(800) 377-6334 Steuben County Plan
Commissioner Tuesday
April 12
National Association of
Home Builders

Check out back

www.nahb.org
(800) 368-5242

Presidents Pen…….…………….. 2
issues on
Calendar……..…...………………. 3

State Edition…...………………... 4
ba-ni.com
Special Edition……………..……..5

Permits…..………………………... 6

Planning Ahead..………………….7
 Member Minute

Jeff Wilson, President The President's Pen...

Bob Buescher Homes
2 Fred Kreigh, Vice President
0 K & F Construction
1 Jan, Garman Treasurer
1 Wabash Electric
Dear Members,
Wow where is the year going. Seems like we just
started planning our years events and now they are
upon us. I hope all of you make a concerted effort to
either attend, participate, or support these upcoming
events:

Beth Cartwright, Treasurer

B Angola Lumber April 12-General Membership Meeting, Steuben
O Planning Commissioner Zach Michels
Dan Study, Past President
A Chapel Homes May 7-Remodelers Tour with 6 Entrys!
R May 10-General Membership Meeting
Dennis Spidel
D Dennis Spidel Custom Homes June 2-Golf Outing at Lake James Golf Course
June 25-Tin Caps Baseball Outing
Jeff Deahl
O August 11-14 & 18-21 Parade of Homes Event
Four Seasons Design & Remodel
F Inc.

Chris Evans Be sure to check out BANI’s new website that is being
created. Lyndsey has been working hard to give it a
D Homes By Jim Ingledue
Construction fresh new look.
I
A special thanks to Doug Miller, State IBA President
Carl Cox
R and all who attended last month’s meeting. He gave an
J O Mory inspiring speech to kick off the building season and
E emphasized the importance of why being a part of your
Mark Knisley
C building associations is such a great value and asset to
Kuntry Lumber your business.
T
Dan Keller See you around the events!
O
Lutterbein Lumber Jeff Wilson
R
S Terry Hughes
Momper Insulation

Jack Musson
Musson Builders

2 The Higher Standard April

 ANNOUNCING!

Introducing our Brand New

Design & Selection Center in
Auburn-Visit us Soon!

255 Talmadge St. 220 W. Ensley Ave. 403 E. Harris St. 2236 Wayne Trace
Shipshewana Auburn Kendallville Fort Wayne
260-768-4176 260-925-4410 260-347-3050 260-422-5584

Discover more at BigCLumber.com

April
Membership Meeting
Join us!
Tuesday April 12
Steuben County Plan Comissioner Zach Michels will be
the guest speaker.
Dinner beginning at 6 pm
Dinner just $20
Reservations Required
IN Legislative News
HOUSE DEMOCRATS RETURN
House Democrats returned to the Statehouse this week, ending the five week
walkout. Democrats were in their seats during the 5 p.m. quorum call Monday and
the House began debating proposed legislation on the floor calendar prior to the
walkout that evening. The House completed the calendar Wednesday night and while
those bills will be sent to the Senate for review, the House will focus on bills
members of the Senate authored and approved. Although the legislature is not
typically in session on Friday, the House is having committee meetings today and
Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) says it may be necessary to hold session days
on Fridays to make the April 29 deadline to adjourn.

DEMOCRATS STILL EXPECTED TO PAY FINES

The 39 House Democrats who participated in the walkout
now each owe an average of roughly $3,100 in fines. House
Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) has asked the House
Clerk to withhold per diem checks until the fines have been
paid. Thursday House Democrats did not go into scheduled
as planned and is speculated there is some disagreement over
the method to pay the fines. To forgive the fines a majority of
House members would have to approve a motion rescinding
them.

BUDGET BILL APPROVED, SENT TO SENATE

The House passed House Bill 1001, a $27.9 billion two-year budget Wednesday night
with the bill passing by a 60-37 vote. The Senate will review the final budget passed
by the House and have the opportunity to make changes before it is sent back to the
House where a conference committee will consider the differences.
HOME BUILDERS: EFFECTIVE HOUSING FINANCE SYSTEM
CRITICAL TO A SOUND ECONOMY
As Congress and the Administration debate potential reforms of the housing finance
companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, NAHB called on Congress to develop a
workable housing finance system before it moves forward with policies that would fur-
ther destabilize the struggling housing market. “A finance system that provides liquid-
ity for the housing sector in all geographic markets throughout the economic cycle is a
prerequisite to achieving housing policy objectives,” NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a
home builder from Reno, Nevada, told members of the House Financial Services Sub-
committee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

Call your members of Congress at 1-(866) 924-NAHB (6242) and tell them:
 I support the testimony of NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen presented to the House Fi-
nancial Services Committee;
 I support a housing finance system that provides liquidity for the housing sector in
markets across the country during all economic conditions;
 GSE reform must be comprehensive in nature, well-conceived, orderly and phased
in over time; and
Short-term proposals to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will disrupt the hous-
ing market and push the nation back into a deep recession.
Let NAHB know what you are hearing from your members of Congress by emailing
builderlink@nahb.com.

Also of great concern to NAHB are the credit risk retention rules required by Section
941 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which were unveiled this week by the six agencies charged
with implementing that section of the law. NAHB believes the proposed rules contain
an unduly narrow definition of the important term “Qualified Residential Mort-
gage” (QRM), featuring a minimum down payment of 20%, which would seriously
disrupt the housing market by making mortgages unavailable or unnecessarily expen-
sive for many creditworthy borrowers.
To view the full press release, please visit http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?
newsID=12404.

The Higher Standard 5

 Building Permits
Category Noble* Steuben LaGrange

Homes 7 15

Residential 4 19
Additions

Industrial 3 4

March 2011
*In Noble County six towns issue building
permits as well as the county, these numbers
are reflective of the county.
In Steuben County, the county as well as the
city of Angola issue permits, these numbers
are reflective of the county.
In LaGrange County, all building permits are
issued out of LaGrange.

8 The Higher Standard April

 By: Zach Michels, Steuben County Plan Director
Planning Ahead plancommission@co.steuben.in.us OR 260 668.1000 x1600

Much Ado About the Due Process

A commonly asked question in the Plan Commission Office is, “Why do we have to
wait so long for a Plan Commission or Board of Zoning Appeals hearing?” There
are usually a few colorful comments after that, but that’s not appropriate for a
professional newsletter. The reason for the wait is due process.
We must follow procedures outlined in our ordinances, Indiana Code, federal law,
and the constitution. Indiana and Steuben County require public notice of public
hearings before the Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals. This is to en-
sure that people who may be affected by the petition have the opportunity for
their opinion to be heard.
For most of our petitions, we are required to have a legal ad in a newspaper of
general circulation in the community (the Herald Republican and their online ads)
and send certified letters to the applicant(s) and interested persons (the two adja-
cent properties within 600 feet) at least 10 days before the public hearing. Start-
ing in spring of 2009, we started placing signs in the yards, and in fall of 2009, we
started posting agendas on the plan commission’s weblog (http://
steubencountyplancommission.blogspot.com).
The conduct of public meetings is another area where due process is important in
planning. Both the Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals have adopted
rules of procedure for the conduct of meetings to ensure equal treatment for all
applicants and citizens and that everybody has the opportunity for their position
to be heard.
Due process requires a significant amount of attention. A small error, such as a
wrong date in the notice or sending letters a day late, may be grounds for an ap-
peal of the Plan Commission’s or Board of Zoning Appeals’ Decision.
It can be annoying to have to wait several weeks for a meeting or for an hour at
the meeting, but it is important for the community to be involved in the decision
process. The loss of time is returned by piece of mind.
 PRSRT STD
BUILDERS ASSOCIATION
OF NORTHEAST
U.S. POSTAGE
INDIANA

PO Box 861 PAID

1400 Wohlert St. PERMIT 52
Angola, IN 46703

ANGOLA, IN 46703

Membership Meeting, Tuesday April 12

Timbers Restaurant in angola, Indiana
6 PM

ANNOUNCING!

Introducing our Brand New

Design & Selection Center in
Auburn-Visit us Soon!

255 Talmadge St. 220 W. Ensley Ave. 403 E. Harris St. 2236 Wayne Trace
Shipshewana Auburn Kendallville Fort Wayne
260-768-4176 260-925-4410 260-347-3050 260-422-5584

Discover more at BigCLumber.com