Merrillville planners have deferred a church’s request to subdivide the lot containing both the church and an adjacent house because of driveway concerns.
A representative for Emmanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church at 5375 Harrison St. told the Merrillville Plan Commission the house once served as the church’s parsonage, but has been vacant for about 12 years.
He said the congregation wants to subdivide the lot and sell the house.
“We feel it would be better to sell the house, but it needs to be on its own lot,” said spokesman Randall Floyd
Commission president and Town Council member Shawn Pettit, D-6th, said the councilman for that area, Richard Hardaway, D-2nd, supports the subdivision.
But commission member Brian Dering said he was concerned that the sale would result in a shared driveway between the congregation and owners of the house. He said there should be separate driveways.
“There would be more liability for the homeowner if he had all those cars drive through his property to get to the church,” commission member Robert Bigelow said.
Floyd said there wasn’t money to build another driveway.
Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
