Plans for home-based chinchilla rescue denied in Porter County

A gospel festival, a chinchilla rescue and a proposed outdoor craft beer and food truck venue got mixed responses from the Porter County Board of Zoning Appeals during a Wednesday meeting that proved variety is indeed the spice of life.

The chinchilla rescue garnered the most opposition from neighbors wary of strangers passing through their Westchester Township subdivision, concerns that the small animal rescue and affiliated pet supply business would expand to include more and larger animals, and even complaints about the owner’s barking dogs.

Ashly Gajda, the founder and owner of Northwest Indiana Chinchillas and Critters, told the board she purchased her home in the 200 block of Arbor Drive in Westchester Township in October, with the goal of maintaining her small animal rescue and her business, which sells cages, toys and other supplies, mostly online.

Gajda, who moved from Hammond in search of a comparatively rural neighborhood, said she does some chinchilla breeding in addition to her rescue work, which sometimes includes hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits and even rats.

“The chinchillas make almost no noise themselves,” said Gajda, who’s operated the rescue since 2003 in different locations as she’s moved about the state, adding she has less than 50 animals at her home at any one time.

She added that a pole barn on her property is almost complete and would include temperaturecontrolled rooms for the heat- and cold-sensitive animals, and traffic to her home would be at a minimum.

“I am opposed to this. This is a residential neighborhood” of nice homes in a quiet neighborhood, said Brie Zacharias, who also lives on Arbor Drive, “and I’d like to keep it that way.”

Zacharias and several other neighbors shared similar concerns.

“I’m in favor of saving animals but it’s a subdivision. It’s not out in the country somewhere,” said Jack Garmany of the 800 block of Mar Mar Loop, who addressed the board with his wife, Joan.

While board member Marvin Brickner tried to find common ground, asking Gajda if she could limit her work to chinchillas if the board granted her approval for two years, board member Brian Damitz was more direct.

“You’re already flirting with the code,” Damitz said, adding Gajda is shipping items from her home and, in addition to the animals she rescues and breeds, has her own pets, including four dogs, guinea pigs and snakes.

Gajda, he said, was passionate about what she does and had a great idea and a great business.

“I want you to be that person but not in that neighborhood,” Damitz said before the board voted 3-0 to deny her request.

■ The “Gospel Bowl” will again bring eight hours of praise music for one Saturday in September on a plot of land in Morgan Township after the festival went on hiatus for 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The free event will take place on the back end of about 18 acres of bowl-shaped property on County Road 150 South with a couple of food trucks and no alcohol after the board renewed a variance first granted for the event in 2018.

The event took place that year and again the following year, drawing 500 and 700 people throughout the day, respectively.

Katie Kopf, an attorney representing Troy and Maggie Quick, who own the property, said the event will take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 18 with food trucks and portable toilets, as well as one off-duty police officer providing security and other volunteers assisting with parking.

One neighbor, Mindy Johnson, raised concerns about event security and safety and said the event might be better suited for Central Park Plaza or Butterfield Pavilion. The music fest also has caused conflict between her and the Quicks, she said.

“This is a good day,” Maggie Quick said, adding it includes churches from Lake and Porter counties and a strong volunteer corps. “We just want to have this day in our yard.”

The board approved the event under the same conditions they approved it last time.

“I think it’s incredible,” said Brickner, who’s attended the festival. “What they do here for one day, you have to see it to believe it.”

■ A proposal for a seasonal site that would offer local craft beers, food trucks and live music at 1200 N. Indiana 49 in Westchester Township is on hold until those involved with the project can hammer out details before the county’s Developmental Review Committee.

“Four Fathers and Friends” would include the owners of Four Fathers Brewing in Valparaiso, Beth and Jason Lacny, as well as other local breweries, said real estate agent Ryan Peters, who also is a partner in the project.