The Dunes - South Main Street

2023 - Sept. 7 - Letter to the Editor, Culver Citizen

The Little Town on Lake Maxinkuckee's Big Growth Housing Project

Lately many good people around he community have passionately expressed their views about very important issues. Another important issue is the Town of Culver's big plan to increase housing. Is big growth high density housing balanced and responsible development?

At their last meeting the Town Council officially announced plans for a 301-unit high density housing development. The "Dunes" will occupy 65 acres west of South Main Street. The number of units have crept up from an original estimate of 110-150, to 200, now to 301.

A 301-unit development is an increase in town size of over 30%. With large scale housing growth looms the possibility of unintended consequences. There is apprehension regarding strains on the town's infrastructure, traffic flow, environmental impact to the Lake, small town feel, and similar concerns.

Simplistically speaking, there is high demand from those who can afford second homes in the community. This demand has inflated values and created a shortage of affordable housing. The workforce seeking affordable housing includes teachers at both the private and public chools, the cabinet factory, and other community businesses.

There is also an ongoing effort to attract new full-time residents who work remotely from home. The number of full-time residents in the town has decreased with some believing that town businesses and the public-school could wither away.

Skeptics believe that as long as the private school and lake community stay strong the town is far from withering away and the public-school's diminishing enrollment issue would best be addressed by building more affordable housing in rural areas of their four-county school district.

Culver Town officials hope the 301-unit development will be affordable to the workforce. In general, their plan which at this point is not too clear, is apparently based on adding large numbers of housing units to flood the market, theoretically lowering prices.

The plan not only includes the 301-unit Dunes, it also envisions future plans for another 400-units on land west of the public school. Skeptics believe the plan is too simplistic and too ambitious, underestimates the demand for second homes, and threatens our proud long and intentional history of a small-town feel.

Some believe the Dunes will most likely be occupied by 2nd home residents who can afford market price. To some the big 301-unit Dunes plan seems a risky experiment with no guarantees.

The transparency, logic, and size of this project is in question and it is hoped that the Town will soon better explain to the community how the units will be affordable to the targeted "workforce."

Your opinion matters. Anyone who lives in or visits Culver, has a business, works or plays in Culver, who fishes, swims or just likes to drive around the lake, all are encouraged to make your voice heard.

The Town will hold a Public Hearing on the Dunes on October 16, 2023. Please attend or write to the Town of Culver as soon as possible.

You can also express your opinions on our grassroots "Culver Dunes Survey" at https://www.surveymonkey.comlr/PPDQT22

In summary, it is my belief that the Dunes project is much too big for our Little Town on Lake Maxinkuckee. Many people visit and live here to get away from big city over development.

The proponents of the Dunes need to go back to the drawing board and scale the size back to the original 110 units or smaller. - JD Castleman