FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

Northwest Indiana residents are reminded that it is ILLEGAL to burn leaves in Porter and Lake Counties and are urged to compost, mulch and chip their yard waste.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management notes that burning leaves results in large amounts of non-visible smoke and soot. Burning five pounds of leaves releases about one pound of soot and other chemicals into the air.

The IDEM gives the following tips for dealing with yard waste:

- Mix leaves into a compost pile to break them down naturally. Composting leaves produce

rich, fertile humus that can enrich flowerbeds and gardens

- Bag leaves for easy drop off at a community composting facility.

- Mulch the leaves with a lawnmower. This method saves time, returns nutrients to a lawn

and disposes of the leaves in one easy step.

- Use a rake instead of a leaf blower to gather leaves into piles. Besides reducing ozone-forming emissions that come from small, gasoline powered tool, raking provides low impact

exercise.

The IDEM notes that burning leaves, branches and other clean wood is legal in most of Indiana, but that many counties and local communities have local ordinances that limit or ban open burning. However, it is illegal to burn leaves in Porter, Lake, Clark and Floyd counties, all of which are non-attainment counties for ozone.

Do you have leaves and it is not seasonal pick up time? Call Porter County Recycling, they do composting 219-465-3694

For Town of Winfield Resident:

Just a reminder to please not post any signs announcing or giving directions to your yard/garage sale around Town. You are permitted to have a sign posted in your yard the day(s) of the sale. Please see Ordinance(s) 156.075, 156.085 and 156.095 as it relates to yard/garage sale signs. Thank you!

Annual Community-Wide Garage Sale

Every year the Town of Winfield has a community garage sale which includes Lake of the Four Seasons residents.

The event is usually held over three days in the month of June with sign up starting the month before.

For Town of Winfield Resident:

Annual Community-Wide Garage Sale

Every year the Town of Winfield has a community garage sale which includes Lake of the Four Seasons residents.

The event is usually held over three days in the month of June with sign up starting the month before.

Visit lcswmd.com for locations accepting tires.

Certain household appliances will be picked up by Republic Services but they must be contacted directly to schedule a special pick up for an addition fee billed by their service. Alternately most electronics except for any product containing freon or oil will accepted at the Town's Spring and Fall Clean Up days. For other locations that accept electronics all year long visit lcswmd.com

Only one trash and one recycling container per household will be provided. Additional containers must be purchased directly from Republic Services at 219-662-8600.

Actions before the BZA, such as a variance, Special Exception, and Use Variance, as well as actions before the Plan Commission, such as a zone change or subdivision, require a public hearing before those respective bodies. Petitioners, as part of the public hearing process, are required to give written notice to property owners within 300 feet of their property by certified mail, as well as publish a legal notice of the public hearing in The Times at least 10 days prior to the hearing. At the public hearing, concerned residents have the opportunity to speak and/ or submit written remarks to the Board. Also, the plans before the BZA and Plan Commission are available for the public to look at during regular business hours at Town Hall.

Bureau of Motor Vehicles (Crown Point Branch) 219-663-0712

Crown Point Christian Village 219-662-0642

Crown Point High School 219-663-4885

Indiana American Water 800-492-8373

Kankakee Valley REMC 800-552-2622

Lake County Animal Control 219-769-7016

Lake County Government Center 219-755-3000

Lake County Sheriff Non-Emergency 219-660-0001

Lake of the Four Seasons Fire Force 219-662-7576

Winfield Library 219-662-4039

NIPSCO 800-464-7726

Winfield American Newspaper 219-662-8888

Jerry Ross Elementary 219-663-3010

Winfield Elementary 219-663-2287

St. Mary Medical Center 219-947-6772

Winfield Township Trustee Office 219-663-7027

Winfield Town Hall 219-662-2665

Winfield Police Department 219-779-9326*

*admistrative line only call 911 for all emergencies and NON-emergencies

The LCSWMD program is a cooperative effort between the Lake, Porter and LaPorte County Solid Waste Districts to collect household hazardous waste.

LCSWMD travels to different communities from April through October for hazardous waste collection days. Visit www.lcswmd.com for complete collection day schedule and to see what is accepted.

Winfield Spring and Fall Clean Up

Twice a year Winfield has a Spring and Fall clean up in the back parking lot of the Winfield Government Center, 10645 Randolph St. A commercial shredder, dumpsters and electronic recycling are provided. No paint, motor oil, gasoline or hazardous waste will be accepted. The Town asks for those participating to please bring a donation for you local food pantry and animal shelter. Dates and times of these events will be posted closer to the date on the Upcoming Events page of the Town's website and Facebook page.

The LCSWMD program is a cooperative effort between the Lake, Porter and LaPorte County Solid Waste Districts to collect household hazardous waste.

LCSWMD travels to different communities from April through October for hazardous waste collection days. Visit www.lcswmd.com for complete collection day schedule and to see what is accepted.

Winfield Spring and Fall Clean Up

-Town Council

-Sewer Board

-Storm Water Board

-Plan Commission

-Board of Zoning Appeals

-Redevelopment Committee

If you would like signed copies of meeting minutes, year 2010 or prior, please come by the Town Hall Office open Monday - Friday 8am to 5pm

If you would like to complete a Copy of Public Record beforehand, please go to Miscellaneous Forms under the Forms tab on the menu bar to print a PDF of the form. Thank you.

If you would like signed copies of meeting minutes, year 2010 or prior, please come by the Town Hall Office open Monday - Friday 8am to 4pm

-Town Council

-Sewer Board

-Storm Water Board

-Plan Commission

-Board of Zoning Appeals

-Redevelopment Committee

If you would like to complete the Public Records Request Form beforehand, please go to the website Home Page, click the "Forms, Permits & Applications" button and search by "Public Records" to print a PDF of the form.

Town Boundaries: North to South - 101st Ave to 129th Ave, East to West - County Line Road to Colorado St.

Incudes subdivisions: Country Meadows, Deer Creek Estates, Doubletree Lake Estates, Doubletree West, Hidden Creek, Palmer, Prairie Crossings, Stonegate, Stonegate Commons, Providence at Stonegate, Wynbrook, and Wyndance

Not included in the Town: Lake of the Four Seasons (unincorporated Lake/Porter County) and Stoney Run (unincorporated Lake County), Falling Waters (unicorporated Porter County).

The following companies provide utilities or have contracts with the Town of Winfield:

Water-Indiana American Water 800-492-8373

Water-Twin Lake Utilities 877-294-8890

(LOFS, Stoney Run, & the Pointe)

Electric/Gas-NIPSCO 800-464-7726

Electric-Kankakee Valley REMC 800-552-2622

Phone/Cable-Comcast 866-594-1234

Phone/Cable-AT&T 800-327-0941

Storm/Sewer/Garbage 219-662-2665

-Town of Winfield

When moving into or out of the Town of Winfield, always call the Town Hall to inform the Clerk-Treasurer department of changes of ownership/renter information to ensure proper billing for new accounts and final bills.

As of May 2016, garbage billing is now handled by the Town of Winfield. Residents will now contact the Town Hall to request totters. The Town has a contract with Republic Waste. Residents may not use another Garbage service. If there is an issue with your garbage pick up please contact Republic Services directly at 219-662-8600.

New residents: Please read the Storm Water section of the FAQ page.

On election day the Winfield Government Center is the polling place for precincts 1,8,9, & 10.

For commons questions or to register visit indianavoters.in.gov

For Lake County voter questions contact the Lake County Board of Elections at 219-755-3795

Trees in the parkway, or the areas between the curb and sidewalk, are the responsibility of the homeowner for maintenance. Trees should be kept 12-feet above the pavement, in order for trucks to collect trash, school busses to pass and to plow the roads. The Town will remove trees in the parkway only when they are dead or dying. Dead parkway trees will NOT be replaced by the Town. The Town determines the condition of the tree by using a qualified person. Homeowners may remove parkway trees at their own expense with permission from the Town and Public Works. It is illegal to plant new trees on parkways without the permission of the Town.

Residents MUST notify the town of their address by the Monday before by 4:30 pm if they have branches for Wednesday chipping; visit winfield.in.gov or call the Town Hall at 219-662-2665. We ask all residents that need branches chipped to comply with the following rules:

· MUST BE NEATLY STACKED

· Branches and limbs must not be more than 6” in diameter

· NO TREE TRUNKS

· NO TREE/LAND CLEARING

· Large end of branches must be placed facing the street

· NO MORE THAN 3’ HIGH STACKS (for safety purposes)

· No tied bundles

· No roots or dirt or foreign material

· No leaves (bagged)

· Must be at the end of the resident’s driveway, 2’ OFF OF ROADWAY

· NO VACANT LOTS

Branches must be out by the curb by the night before pick-up, and the area must be clear of any parked vehicles. What is deemed acceptable based on these rules will be at the Winfield Street Department’s discretion. Anything put out for pick up that exceeds these rules will be left behind, and will be the homeowner’s responsibility to dispose of. The Street Department may not spend more than ten minutes at each residence so they can complete their route. Please follow the rules above to ensure timely pick up for all residents.

Mulch is available for residents to pick up from behind the Town Hall in the back parking lot. Bring your own container and help yourself.

-Empty plastic food and beverage containers, cleaned and rinsed out

-All empty aluminum, steel, and tin beverage containers

-Clear, green, and brown glass (all glass bottles and jars)

-Newspapers and inserts

-Food boxes (cereal, cracker boxes etc-must be flattened)

-Flyers

-Copy paper

-Magazines, phonebooks, soft cover books

-Catalogs

-Junk mail

-Cardboard boxes must be 2'x2' pieces

-Brown paper bags

-Office and school papers

-All #1through #7 plastics, including plastic bags (look for the middle of the recycling triangle on product to get number)

Household Hazardous Waste

The Town and Republic Services do not accept hazardous material. Empty paint cans and dried out paint cans may go in the regular garbage. To dispose hazardous waste visit the Lake County Solid Waste Management District's website at lcswmd.com to see a schedule of their collection days and what can be accepted or call 219-852-2420.

The Zoning Administrator’s office hours at Town Hall are Mondays to Fridays from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

Branch Chipping Policy

The Town of Winfield offers branch chipping services to our residents.

The primary intent of the program is to assist homeowners with branch removal mostly after storm damage and in light tree trimming.

An updated permitted use chart can be found as an attachment (Zoning Appendix A) at the “Zoning Information/ Map” link under FORMS in the “Planning Forms” tab.

The town’s design requirements for each zoning district can be found as an attachment (Zoning Appendix B: Design Requirements Table) at the “Zoning Information/ Map” link under FORMS in the “Planning Forms” tab.

Winfield has the following zoning districts: AG (Agricultural); AG-B (Agricultural Business); R-1 (Low Density Residential); R-2 (Medium Density Residential); R-3 (High Density Residential); R-4 (Residential- Duplex/ Triplex); MF (Multi-Family Residential- greater than 3 units); C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial);C-2 (Office Commercial); C-3 (General Commercial); M-1 (Light Manufacturing); PDR (Planned Development- Residential); PDC (Planned Development- Commercial); and PDM (Planned Development- Mixed)

The BZA meets on the second Thursday of each month at 5:30 pm. The Plan Commission meets on the second Thursday of each month at 6:00 pm, as well as having a study session on the fourth Thursday of each month at 6:00 pm. Information on BZA and Plan Commission membership, agendas, applications, and meeting minutes are all available on the town’s website.

Chipping starts the 2nd Wednesday in April and ends on the 2nd Wednesday in October, weather permitting. It corresponds with garbage service pick up (if garbage is delayed a day due to a holiday, then chipping will be delayed a day as well).

Fall leaf pick up begins on the 2nd Wednesday of October, and ends on the 2nd Wednesday of December, weather permitting.

You must either call 219-662-2665 or submit a request form on our website www.winfield.in.gov to have your address added to the route.

The rules are as follows:

• Leaves should be placed in a narrow pile, within 5-feet of the street.

• All Leaves must be placed at the edge of the lawn, NOT in the street, ditches or drainage swales.

• Leaves should not be bagged or placed in a container.

• No dirt, garbage, branches, or rocks etc. can be mixed in.

• Pick up must be from an inhabited home (no vacant lots).

• Place leaves away from mailboxes, trees and utility poles.

• Spring leaf collection will be on the 2nd and 3rd week of April.

* What is deemed acceptable based on these rules will be at the Winfield Street Department’s discretion. Anything put out for pick up that exceeds these rules will be left behind and will be the homeowner’s responsibility to dispose of. The Street Department may not spend more than ten minutes at each residence so they can complete their route. Please follow the rules above to ensure timely pick up for all residents.

SIDE NOTE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: If you have leaves and it is not seasonal pick-up time, contact Porter County Recycling, they do composting: (219) 465-3694 or visit www.portercountyrecycling.org.

Branch pick up will resume in the spring.

Zoning throughout town can be found on the town’s revised zoning map at the “Zoning Information/ Map” link under FORMS in the “Planning Forms” tab.

Residents can call Republic Services if their residence was missed on their pick up day, 219-662-8600. Be sure to put bins out the night before to ensure pick up as routes can begin as early as 7a.m.

The Town Hall, 219-662-2665, to set up recycling service and request bins. Republic will provide a 95 gallon rolling cart automatically with you initially set up service. Regular garbage will be picked up weekly, however, recycling is pickup on an every-other-week basis.