New Chauncey Neighborhood Association | The NCNA supports the ongoing sustainability and historic preservation of the New Chauncey Neighborhood in West Lafayette Indiana (original) (raw)

[this even is not sponsored by The New Chauncey Neighborhood Association and was shared by Ethan Fortner, Community Development Manager]

May 3, 2025

10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EDT
Delphi Opera House, 109 S Washington St, Delphi, IN 46923

Expert window restorers, Ezra Gray, Christina Langsdorf, and Anita Werling, cover the basics of wood window restoration and repair at an introductory workshop. Learn how traditional wood windows are constructed, common problems, and tips for their repair and weatherization. No previous knowledge required.

Hosted by Indiana Landmarks in partnership with Delphi Preservation Society, the workshop takes place at the group’s historic Delphi Opera House, winner of Indiana Landmarks’ 2017 Cook Cup for Outstanding Restoration.

Delphi Opera House is an accessible venue. Questions? Contact west@indianalandmarks.org.

Want to do more? A companion workshop on May 3, 1-5 p.m. EDT offers attendees a deeper dive into wood window restoration through a hands-on session. Separate ticket required.

Tickets

Tickets cost 25/generalpublic;25/general public; 25/generalpublic;20/Indiana Landmarks members; and $10/students (high school, college, or vocational school). Make your reservation using the form below, by visiting DelphiWindowRestoration101.eventbrite.com, or by calling 317-639-4534 or 800-450-4534.

Dear Councilors and Mayor Easter,

The leadership team of New Chauncey Neighborhood Association appreciates your decision to table the ADU Amendment. We expect there will be further community dialog on the matter. In the meantime we would share with you this consensus:

  1. Don’t pass the ADU amendment for New Chauncey

Last week you were sent two planning documents that were developed during the 12 years that our District 2 councilor represented West Lafayette on the Area Plan Commission. Some of the Council members may have been unaware that their predecessors on this City Council approved these planning tools. The New Chauncey Neighborhood Plan, especially, is the product of much compromise. The neighborhood did not want any of the increased density along Fowler and Northwestern that eventually became a part of the plan. But because we were willing to compromise and support a document that endorsed that increased density, the city made a commitment that the remaining portions of the neighborhood would remain low density. Page 67 of that document shows the future land use map. The transitions that you see from low density to higher density were hard fought; they are lines that should not be crossed. This approved planning document is very clear that increased residential density in the majority of New Chauncey Neighborhood is not part of the city’s long-term plan. There is no justification to change that.

  1. The ADU amendment creates more problems than it solves

It has been pointed out that Section 5B of the proposed ordinance circumvents, in many cases, a public hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals. It should not do that. The BZA helps allow growth in a way that protects adjacent property owners’ rights. This section can also allow lot coverage ratios to be exceeded. Among other problems, if too much property is covered with structures, the rainwater and snow melt from a property will end up on neighbors’ land or run off into the street and into the storm sewer instead of soaking into the ground. Neither of these results of excess lot coverage is your intent, nor is it what we want. Neither, parking problems, enforcing occupancy rules, nor empty dwellings when the next owner doesn’t want to be in the rental business. Laws which create more problems than they solve are laws that should not be enacted, anywhere in our city.

The neighborhood and its leadership welcome further dialog on the housing issues facing West Lafayette. We hope that the city will keep us apprised of opportunities that are planned for that.

Respectfully,

New Chauncey Neighborhood Association Leadership Team

The City of West Lafayette has announced two public meetings to discuss the ADU Ordinance that was proposed at the January City Council Meeting and tabled until the March 3rd meeting.

Review the January 6th City Council ADU Discussion

You can watch the meeting here (Ordinance starts at 13:52 and Public Comment 30:30) or listen to the audio of the ADU sections here (already sliced).

The vote to table was 7 Yeas and 1 Nay (At-Large Councilor Blanco).

There were members of the community who spoke in favor and those who spoke against. You can hear their comments in the media above.

Petition in Opposition

The petition in opposition currently has 86 signatures. It is still open for additional signatures if you would like to sign.

News and Media Discussion

The meeting was also discussed in the local media: Bangert’s Based in Lafayette, Journal and Courier, Purdue Exponent, WLFI.

Upcoming ADU Discussion Meetings

The City will hold two meetings:

From the City’s press release:

The meetings promote open dialogue and include small group discussions led by city council members. Residents have the opportunity to share their thoughts, concerns, and suggestions. Additionally, representatives from the Area Plan Commission (APC) are present to offer expert insights.

In addition to community input, the meetings will include a presentation of data from other municipalities where ADUs have been implemented, offering examples of their impact and effectiveness.

Residents who cannot attend the meetings can still have their voices heard by submitting feedback via email to council@westlafayette.in.gov or directly to any city council member.

Neighborhood Activities

We encourage neighbors to:

May you and yours be safe, well, and warm.

Join neighbors at 3:15pm on Sunday, October 27th, for a fun filled New Chauncey tradition.

Everyone will be meeting up around 3:15pm at the intersection of Rose and Lincoln St. to mingle and setup. Neighbors will parade down to Lincoln Park starting at 3:30pm to enjoy the playground.

No goodie bags will be provided this year. Sorry. 😢

We wish our neighbor and decades long Halloween Parade MC, Paul, good health.

[posted by request of our neighbor Danny Weiss]

https://wlaf.lib.in.us/calendar/ice-cream-social-at-the-caretakers-cottage

Ice Cream Social at the Caretaker’s Cottage
August 24 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

The West Lafayette Public Library Foundation will host a “Pay What You Wish” Ice Cream Social on August 24 from 1-3 at the Caretaker’s Cottage, 1496 N. Salisbury St. in West Lafayette. The event will be outdoors; attendees should bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating on the grass.

Donations will support operations of the Cottage, which is leased by the West Lafayette Public Library from the City of West Lafayette. The 1903 Cottage, located in Grand View Cemetery, was purchased by the city and renovated to serve as a local history center open to the public.

The Wabash Valley Youth Symphony Chamber Ensemble will provide entertainment from 1:30- 2:30 pm. A raffle of tickets to area events is also planned.

The Cottage will be open for public viewing throughout the afternoon. Devon Roddel, West Lafayette Public Library Archivist and Historian, will be present to answer questions.

The event is sponsored by Coldwell Banker Shook. There is limited parking in the cemetery, or the public can park on Highland or Carrollton Streets, a short walk from the Cottage. The Cottage is a fully handicap-accessible facility.

For more information, email info@wlplf.org.

requested by our neighbor, Patti O’Callaghan

Opening of the Racial Covenants Exhibit
at the Caretaker’s Cottage Local History Museum
in Grandview Cemetery
Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at 10:00 am

Racial Reconciliation of Greater Lafayette is pleased to announce that after several years of research, an exhibit highlighting the history of racially restrictive covenants on property ownership in
West Lafayette will be unveiled at the Caretaker’s Cottage Local History Museum on Tuesday, June 18 at 10am.

The event at the Caretaker’s Cottage in the Grandview Cemetery (1510 N Salisbury St, West Lafayette) will include a proclamation read by West Lafayette Mayor Erin Easter to acknowledge the history of racial discrimination in housing in West Lafayette and apologize for these past injustices. We are grateful that Mayor Easter has committed to beginning a dialogue with the communities who were harmed or oppressed by these racial covenants and addressing the next steps.

Everyone is welcome to attend the event on June 18, and to view the exhibit during its installation in the Caretaker’s Cottage, which will run through next year.

Racial Reconciliation of Greater Lafayette is a group of individuals in Greater Lafayette that hosts book studies, town hall meetings, and speakers to learn and discuss the impact of race. We hope this exhibit will be an opportunity to educate our community.

facebook.com/RacialReconciliationGL/

This post is part of a series that will highlight the history of the New Chauncey neighborhood and association via newspaper archives.

Members of the New Chauncey Neighborhood Association will meet Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in West Lafayette City Hall to hear a progress report on neighborhood rehabilitation.

Members of the community interested in investing in rehabilitation are asked to attend.

Journal and Courier, February 12th, 1977 edition.

Editor’s Note: I wonder if these progress reports are somewhere in the City’s archives. We know it has been a struggle to rehabilitate New Chauncey for decades.

This post is part of a series that will highlight the history of the New Chauncey neighborhood and association via newspaper archives.

Two West Lafayette citizens groups have expressed concern about safety hazards at the intersections of U.S. 231 and Salisbury St.

The New Chauncey Neighborhood Association and the Morton Council of Parents have sent letters to K.L. McDaniel in the Crawfordsville District Office of the Indiana State Highway Commission.

Letters sent by the groups say approximately 15 accidents have occurred per year for the past five years at the intersections of U.S. 231 (Wiggins St. and Fowler Ave.) and Salisbury St. In addition, the letters state, “most of these accidents were right angle collisions, indicative of the difficulty that traffic on Salisbury has in crossing U.S. 231.”

The groups request that the commission give high priority to the placement of traffic signals at the intersections, to provide greater safety for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists.

The New Chauncey Neighborhood Association is an organization of some 200 residents who live in the area adjoining U.S. 231 and the Morton Council of Parents is a parents organization at Morton Elementary School, where many children must cross the highway on their way to school.

Journal and Courier, October 10th, 1980 edition.

Below is a reminder that was shared by the City of West Lafayette and applies to any snowfall with accumulation:

With the snowfall today please avoid parking in the streets.

The Street Department closely monitors conditions and pre-treats roads when there is a possibility of snow or ice. Pre-treat loses effectiveness when rain precedes snow events. Plowing and salt operations begin once snow or ice accumulate on the streets.

Please help us by following these guidelines:

Designated Snow Routes Include:

Helpful Links:

Posts navigation