A proposed Portage subdivision continues to draw opposition from neighbors.
Resident Diana Nolen told the city council last week that she moved to her home on Tonia Street around 1979 — attracted by the beauty of the nearby wooded area. Then, one day, the trees started coming down.
"We had no clue that this was going to happen when it did. We just woke up one morning, and there are all these deer running," Nolen said.
Residents said it was the first indication they got of the proposed North Wood Trail Subdivision. It would bring 82 new homes to a 35-acre site off Old Porter Road. It's bounded by homes on both sides, but it's been left undeveloped for decades.
Many nearby residents say they oppose the current plans on environmental grounds. Annette Kulmatycki said she wants a 15-to-30-foot wildlife buffer between the existing homes and the new ones.
"This would allow for a wildlife corridor preventing fragmentation and retain some of the natural green space and tree canopy," Kulmatycki told council members.
But attorney Bill Ferngren, representing developer MPGA, says buffering residential properties from other residential properties doesn't make sense from a planning standpoint. "It's really backyards butting up against backyards," Ferngren told the Portage Plan Commission on Monday. "Areas where we're required to buffer and we think it makes complete sense would be to the north because there is, if you recall, a small commercial parcel that your ordinance identifies and dictates that buffering is required."
He also said a tree survey is underway, but he couldn't rule out that some substantial trees may end up being removed as the subdivision is developed. Additionally, the developers plan to discuss future improvements to Old Porter Road with the city's board of works.
The plan commission decided to table the proposed subdivision until its November 6 meeting.
