Chesterton waives home building permit fees for veterans and active-duty troops

Chesterton will waive residential building permit fees for veterans and active-duty members of the armed forces on their homes, after the Town Council passed the waiver Monday, Nov. 9.

The council approved Ordinance 2026-11 on first reading, suspended its rules and passed it on second and final reading the same night, each time by voice vote with all five members present and no one voting no, according to the town's recording of the meeting. As read into the record, the ordinance amends the town code "to establish a residential building permit fee waiver for active duty service members and veterans of the United States Armed Forces."

Council President Erin Collins said she raised the idea a couple of months ago, that other municipalities are doing the same, and that she hopes it draws the state's attention. "I think that the men and women who serve our country, the least that we can do to give back to them is, you know, help them out with a waiver of their building permit fees for their primary residence," she said two days before Veterans Day.

Cyberbullying safe places

The council also passed Resolution 2026-15 on a voice vote with no one voting no, designating the Chesterton Police Station and the Chesterton Fire Station as safe places to report cyberbullying and cyber extortion and declaring Chesterton a bully-free community.

Collins spoke of what she called "an absolutely heartbreaking loss of a young life" in the community and said the police chief brought the idea forward. "We know that bullying doesn't stop at the school doors anymore," she said. "With social media and technology, it can follow our children home."

Snow ban and road money

The annual downtown parking snow ban took effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, and runs through the winter. It covers most of the downtown district, and drivers should not park there once 2 inches or more of snow is on the ground, Street Department staff told the council before members approved it.

The town's engineering staff reported that Chesterton won $345,000 in state Community Crossings money for 2027 for work on Indian Boundary Road, from east of State Road 49 to the town's east limits, and on Council Drive from Indian Boundary Road to its south end.

Zoning rewrite and housing hearing

The council approved a $60,000 Development Catalyst grant agreement with the Regional Development Authority. The grant runs through the end of 2027 and pays for help amending or rewriting the town's development ordinance, and the council then authorized the Plan Commission to seek qualifications from consultants for the update. Council Member Jennifer Fisher had told the council Oct. 26 that work on the agreement had resumed and that a request for a consultant would follow, the minutes of that meeting show.

The town's attorney, Connor Nolan, recommended a public hearing by the end of the year on Chesterton's zoning rules and efforts to improve housing availability and affordability under House Enrolled Act 1001, the state housing law. The council scheduled it for its Dec. 14 meeting, along with a hearing on additional appropriations for 2026 that Clerk-Treasurer Courtney Udvare requested.

The Chesterton Branding and Leadership Corp. reported that all five sculptures for the Chesterton Railside Arts and Cultural District are finished and will be given to the town, with installation estimated at the end of May 2027, once utility locates confirm the sites. The Parks Foundation reported that a $100,000 gift from Duneland Resale matched its $100,000 Energize Porter County grant for a dog park.

What comes next

The Chesterton Advisory Plan Commission holds a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, at Town Hall, 726 Broadway, on a new comprehensive plan to replace the one adopted in 2010. The draft is posted on the town's website, and questions go to planning@chestertonin.org or 219-926-1641.

The two council hearings follow at the Monday, Dec. 14, meeting at Town Hall. Council meetings start at 6 p.m. and stream live on the town's YouTube channel.