Planning commission unanimously recommends denying Treasure Island Road vacation after homeowners object

The Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission voted unanimously May 6 to recommend denial of a petition to vacate a roughly 400‑ to 420‑foot stretch of Treasure Island Road that a marina operator says is being used as a hazardous shortcut.

Petitioner representative Steve Snyder said the road functions as a de facto service drive for marina customers and that vacating the right-of-way would allow the marina to manage traffic and improve safety. “Treasure Island is… it just makes for a racetrack,” Snyder said, arguing that pedestrian access and emergency vehicle access could be preserved and that “pedestrian traffic” could be accommodated by leaving a public way or installing bollards.

Residents and homeowners association leaders strongly disagreed. “There is no visibility issue. We have no accidents reported,” said resident Mike Cannon, challenging the petitioner’s safety claims and warning that vacation would split the neighborhood. Shane Aiken, president of the Enchanted Hills homeowners association, said the association offered to install speed bumps as a compromise and argued that vacating the road would leave pedestrians without safe routes: “You're gonna have pedestrians with no sidewalks walking around,” Aiken said.

Other neighbors raised logistical concerns about mail delivery, school buses, snow removal and how cul‑de‑sacs or roundabouts would be constructed if the road were vacated. Greg Long, who lives adjacent to the marina, said he supports the vacate if a pedestrian gate or bollards preserve foot traffic, but many others rejected that compromise as insufficient.

The technical committee and staff noted the county highway superintendent and fire chief provided input; staff also highlighted that the sewer main crossing the right-of-way would need protection and that cul‑de‑sac locations and maintenance details would be unresolved at this stage. The commission discussed alternatives — including speed bumps, roundabouts or a pedestrian dedication — but several members emphasized that the proposed vacation would remove an historic public way and limit community access.

Commissioner (Committee member) moved to deny the vacation and another commissioner seconded; after discussion the commission approved the motion. Staff will forward a unanimous “no” recommendation to the county commissioners for their May 19 meeting.

Next step: The county commissioners will consider the planning commission’s recommendation at their May 19 meeting; the commission’s recommendation is not itself the final legal decision on the vacation.